With everything said, Kellogg should take action and responsibility for the products that they sell to children. They are one of the leading sellers of cereals, snacks and breakfast foods, and should take advantage of that in a positive way, where they can provide healthier foods for kids.
Why should Kellogg start advocating healthier life styles only to adults? Why not start when they are young and teach them to maintain good eating habits that they can carry along with them for the rest of their lives.
Kellogg already has many varieties of nutritious snacks that are very popular among consumers. They should take this and use it to transform their less healthy products to healthier ones so that they can help children be healthier and live better lives.
I found this video and thought that it tied well into my blog because it discusses the personal experience of Steven Knoppe who fought obesity as a child.
People should watch this video to see how obesity happens and the negative affects that it has on people. This is first hand information from his experience and also provides information about children he treats for obesity.
Top officials have declared obesity as a top health threat in the United States, estimating the percentage of obese adults to be about 30 pounds overweight for a 5’4” person. Studies are showing that in 2020 40 percent of women and 37 percent of men will be obese by age 35. This means there will be an increase in health risks, deaths, healthcare and rates.
Obesity starts at a young age and goes into adulthood. Changing habits early on can prevent this epidemic from continuing to grow. What does this mean? There needs to be healthier foods advertised and provided to children at home and at school.
Please Kellogg take all this into consideration when manufacturing your foods. You could actually stick to your advocacy of healthy eating by really giving kids better choices for food options not just adults.
Drinks and snacks in vending machines across the United States have been changing drastically over the past eight years as the obesity rate is rising among students Pre-K through 12.
An article “School Kids in for Sugar Shock” in the New York Post, discusses the crack down on providing healthy snacks and drinks for students at school to prevent obesity rates from rising as well as health issues. Snacks provided in vending machines are now regulated to be under 200 calories, have less than 200 mg of sodium and less than 10 percent saturated fat. (NOTE: This criteria for vending machines is misleading however because in a Kellogg Pop-Tart package there are two tarts provided, each 200 calories. Most consumers will eat both which amounts to 400 calories and the nutritional content is very minimal as well.)
Making vending machine choices healthier is a step in the right direction to helping kids makes better choices when eating. If that however is their goal, then why are they putting snacks like Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts and Famous Amos cookies still in them?
Kellogg’s has a variety of low calorie, vitamin filled snacks and bars that they could provide these vending machines to sell to kids. It is obvious that kids in general are more inclined to buy Pop-Tarts and Famous Amos because they satisfy the sweet tooth, but if these products are NOT available to students, but rather the healthier snacks, they will only have the choice to choose among nutritional snacks, which is the idea right?
As I mentioned in my “about me” section, I talked about growing up in an organic vegetarian home, where junk food was only allowed on special occasions.
Despite learning at young what healthy eating habits were, I still had that infamous baby fat that most kids have growing up, especially during puberty. Until middle school, I never thought about my body, but as a entered my teens I began to look at it more critically and realized I lacked confident, because did not feel that I was at a healthy weight for my size and age. I weighed more than, than I do now, which was almost eight years ago.
Even though I ate really healthy, I didn’t have a body that I was happy with, so I covered myself up. I was so insecure with what I looked like that I wore a sweatshirt for literally three years straight, no matter what they weather was, so that I could hide myself. Many children in the United States unfortunately do not grow up the way I did, so they continue to put on the pounds rather than loose them as they get older. I feel that because I knew how to eat right and maintain balance, my body was able to regulate itself as I got older and is now at a healthy weight.
With this said I want you to understand my point why self-esteem is so important to me and should be for everyone, and how healthy eating habits are related. Kidshealth.org says it best that “Self-esteem is all about how much people value themselves, the pride they feel in themselves, and how worthwhile they feel.” Self-esteem is also so important because feeling good about yourself affects the way you act, the friends you make, and the way you enjoy life.
Children and teens that are overweight generally have low self esteem and get caught in a Obesity-Self Esteem Cycle. Eating healthy at a young age will most likely lead to better health in the future, which in turn will stimulate high self esteem levels. With the rising rate of obesity in the United States, more children are at high risk for low self-esteem.
Kellogg, being such a predominate figure in the market, needs to take advantage of their standing to help their consumers, not hurt them. The junk foods they solicit to children are only pushing them towards unhealthier lives physically, but mentally. If they care about the future of the American children, it will reconsider what it advertises to children and try and promote better life-styles overall and stop selling junk.
Most people when they grow up are constantly reminded of how important fruits and veggies are in a daily diet. Fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov explains how fruits and veggies are “critical to promoting good health.” They give people essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber that may help protect from chronic diseases such as stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers.
Although fruits and veggies are so vital for our health, we sometimes forget to incorporate them into our diets. The Kellogg Company has taken a clever strategy in marketing their kid-type breakfast foods by playing up fruit in their unhealthy products. Fruit Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Applejacks are misleading to children since they advertise the idea that there is nutritional value just like what you would get with real fruit.
An article written in the Washington Post about Pop-Tarts, talks about Kellogg’s short lived marketing line "made with real fruit." Kellogg attempted to market its product with the idea that it was made with real fruit filling. It turns out that the actual filling is only made up of 10 percent fruit and the small amount of nutrients and vitamins that come from a Pop-Tart are added in and not actually from the fruit itself. In addition the non-fruit pop tarts, such as the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tart has the same amount of nutritional value as those that are fruit related.
Although in 2006 Kellogg stopped advertising with the phrase "made with real fruit," it still needs clarify how unhealthy these foods really are. With the images of fruit and the names of fruit flavors on the boxes it still is misleading to children. Kellogg should let children know that these types are foods are not good for their health and they should focus on eating fresh fruits and veggies to get their daily intake of vitamins and nutrients.
As most of the western world is transitioning to healthier life-styles, there are unfortunately companies like Kellogg that is sending contradicting messages with their products.
Over the past 8 years, Kellogg has tried to make its way into the realm of healthy foods but selling products like “Special K” and “K2O Protein Water.” Through this they have been promoting weight loss and a healthier eating habits, which is a great idea for their customers and shows that they care about people’s health.
There’s only one problem.
All the commercials and ads that promote these positive things are directed primarily at adults, while all their junk foods are directed at children.
Studies have shown that eating habits are learned during infancy and by age three many preferences of food have already been made . In addition many children tend to mimic their mothers and fathers eating habits, so if they eat junk food and encourage it as part of their diet, their children will most likely follow the same behavior. If healthy foods however are a part of their diet and are encouraged, children will more likely be inclined to make better choices when eating. (Parenthood.com)
Kellogg is the leading producer of cereal and convenience foods in the world according to Ameritrade, which means that they have many customers eating their foods. Being such a prominent and influential figure in the market they have the ability to develop healthier foods and encourage better eating habits.
I read this quote today by Harry Truman, and found it very interesting in regards to my blog:
"A nation is only as healthy as its children."
I find this quote very true because as I mentioned before in a previous post, obesity in children leads to obesity in adult hood, and this epidemic is causing nearly 300, 000 deaths and costing over $100 billion dollars annually.
Keeping our children healthy will keep our nation healthy, so companies like Kellogg should take this into consideration when advertising junk food.
The obvious target audience for Kellogg’s sugary and fatty foods is children. How are they supposed to resist the bright colored, sugary goodness they could have in their mouth.
With all the fluff and excitement that these commercials bring to children, why should Kellogg darken their happiness by telling them that they could become overweight and develop health problems?
Well, here’s why: It could prevent them from developing diabetes and heart disease, and also reduce the annual death rate of 300,000 people caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise. (Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
Also according to the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry between 16 and 33 percent of children are considered obese in the United States and the numbers keep rising. Overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults, and the epidemic is costing our society $100 billion dollars annually.
Mr. MacKay, if you could help educate children on how to truly eat healthy and maintain good eating habits through your commercials and ads, wouldn’t you want to?
Before trying to take advantage of naïve children with kid-appealing commercials, please try and consider their future health and let them understand what it is that they are actually eating, and what kinds of foods they should be eating.
Although the Kellogg commercials appeal to kids and suggest that eating these product will make their day magical and fulfilled, Kellogg fails to tell them that the foods they are eating are not healthy and can actually affect their lives.
This Pop-Tart commercial is the most recent one released in 2009. As you will see when you watch the video, the commercial targets children with the misleading image that Pop-Tarts are a fun and good source for breakfast.
When it comes to Kellogg’s, many of your products and commercials seem to spread delight and happiness among your target audience of children. But do you think that these children truly understand what they are consuming and what health affects they may endure in the future from eating bad food?
I am going to go with no.
Young children are generally not yet concerned with obesity and health problems, therefore are not concerned with what foods and snacks they eat. This is not ok, and Kellogg is taking advantage of the situation sending mixed messages about health and selling bad food to kids. It is our responsibility as adults, parents and teachers to take care of our children and raise them to eat healthy and be aware of what they consume.
I am coming to you as a concerned individual who was raised in a healthy organic home, as well as spent 8 years babysitting children of all ages. I have witnessed the differences in self-esteem, health and activity of those kids who eat healthy foods versus those that eat unhealthy foods. In addition I have read countless articles of the obesity epidemic the United States faces with young children and the rapid rise of juvenile diabetes and heart disease.
Please think about the future of all these children when releasing and advertising foods to them. You could help save their lives.
Kellogg's Kids is intended to encourage CEO, David Mackay of Kellogg, to stop selling unhealthy food products to children and parents. Many of the the Kellogg products are high in sugars and fats,and are being advertised as part of a complete diet.
Children need to learn at an early age what healthy eating habits are so that they do not face problems with obesity, diabetes,and heart disease.
acks and breakfast foods, and should take advantage of that in a positive way, where they can provide healthier foods for kids. 
