Designing a Campaign against Childhood Obesity

A campaign against childhood obesity
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Problem or Opportunity
Childhood obesity continues to reach epidemic levels worldwide. Data from CDC (2021) indicates that obesity affects more than 14 million children and adolescents. Further, obesity prevalence was 3.4% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.3% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 21.2% among 12- to 19-year-olds (CDC, 2021). The problem is more predominant among Hispanics and blacks, with a prevalence of 25.6% and 24.2%, respectively. The prevalence is relatively lower among whites and Asians, with only 16.1% and 8.7%, respectively (CDC, 2021). Childhood obesity has been linked to various medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and high cholesterol (Sanyaolu et al., 2019). While most of the physical health problems associated with childhood obesity can be prevented and may disappear when the child reaches a healthy weight, some continue to have adverse effects even in adulthood (Sahoo et al., 2015). In addition to these conditions, obesity negatively impacts a child's social and emotional wellbeing. According to Lian et al. (2018), obese and overweight children tend to have low self-esteem. While in school, these children are bullied, which adversely affects their academic performance.
Since Hispanic children are most affected, there is a need to engage their parents to tackle childhood obesity. There is a need for Hispanic of 2- to 5-year-olds to become aware of the dangers of unhealthy problems. Parents of 2- to 5-year-olds are critical since tackling the problem when children are at this tender age prevents it from escalating in the future. A majority of the children who are obese started with unhealthy habits at this tender age and progressively continued until they became obese. The campaign encourages Hispanic parents to make practical changes to everyday lifestyle habits to make a big difference in their children's lives. It aims to halt the rise in obesity among children when they are still below five years. Hispanic parents need to become aware of obesity when children are young. They can embrace parenting approaches aligned to healthy behaviors during such a time. For instance, when such parents ensure that their children consume healthy diets at a tender age, it will be easier to continue with such meals (Scaglioni et al., 2018). Similarly, if the kids learn the importance of physical exercise, they will not spend more time watching T.V. and playing video games. The move will ensure a healthy Hispanic nation in the future.
Sponsor
The campaign's sponsor will be Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA). The nonprofit organization was founded in 2011 to transform the food landscape to ensure health equity. The former First Lady Michelle Obama serves as PHA's honorary chair. PHAs vision ensures that all families, particularly those disproportionally affected, live healthier lives free from diet-related diseases like obesity, heart disease, and other chronic conditions (PHA, 2021). The organization's mission is to leverage the private sector's influence in transforming the food landscape to ensure health equality in America. PHA uses its power to spearhead programs that positively transform the U.S. food landscape. The organization partners with organizations involved in the supply chain to improve the nutritional profile of foods and beverages. Moreover, PHA collaborates with other nonprofit organizations to ensure that Americans regain control of their health.
PHA exists to ensure that families, particularly those with low income, consume healthy meals. Given that the campaign aims at creating awareness among low-income Hispanic parents regarding the importance of healthy lifestyles, it would align with the mission and vision of PHA. As a result, PHA would find it worth partnering with us to ensure that low-income Hispanic parents feed their children healthy foods. In addition, since the campaign seeks to ensure that Hispanic parents are sensitized to maintaining healthy eating habits among their children, it would complement the efforts of PHA. The organization is better placed to sponsor the campaign by providing all the necessary resources.
Target Audience
The target audience consists of low-income Hispanic parents of children aged two to five years. According to Pasch et al. (2016), parents or caregivers play a vital role in their children's weight. They are responsible for structuring their children's home environment and daily lifestyles (Akerman, Williams & Meunier, 2007). Parents or caregivers are responsible for their kids' eating and physical activity behaviors. Children aged between two and five years old are in the control of their parents, compared to those above five years. A majority of the children below five years stay with their parents, especially where they do not go to school. Targeting the Hispanic parents of children aged between two and five years is needed to reduce the prevalence of the problem among the population.
Rietmeijer‐Mentink and colleagues (2013) note that parents from Hispanic heritage tend to underestimate their children's weight. As a result, they fail to currently their children as overweight but instead consider them healthy. Kersey et al. (2010) note that Hispanic mothers consider bigger children as healthy or ideal weight. The same mothers consider thinner kids as undernourished. Such a misleading perception causes the parents to overfeed their children to become bigger. In the process, children are overweight and obese, with the parents considering them as nourished. The failure to correctly identify a child's weight misleads Hispanic parents to believe that their overweight children are healthy and normal. The perception leads to a failure in mitigating against adverse effects of obesity by encouraging the consumption of healthy foods and physical exercise (Tompkins, Seablom & Brock, 2015).
Behavior
The campaign addresses the misleading perception that overweight children are healthier and healthy children are malnourished. There are potential differences in Hispanic parents' views and practices regarding obesity. Using validated programs among while parents may be problematic to implement among the Hispanics (Martinez, Rhee, Blanco & Boutelle, 2017). The campaign seeks to identify and address cultural attitudes and practices that determine the mother's ability to make the required changes in improving the health outcomes of children. The misleading perceptions about obesity need to be prioritized and tackled. Before demonstrating the adverse effects of obesity among children, Hispanic parents need to differentiate between obese and healthy children. The change in attitude would be critical in assisting parents in understanding what obesity and being overweight entails. It is from their realization that their perception is wrong to create healthy behaviors for their children.
Channels
(a) Facebook
The penetration of the Internet and the availability of affordable smartphones has allowed individuals to access social media on their phones (Marler, 2018). More people now have access to information than before. Social media has become a significant source of information, especially among young people and adults (Hruska & Maresova, 2020). The ease of creating a social media account has made it popular among many individuals. More individuals are spending their time on social media, especially Facebook.
Griauzde and others (2020) studied the influence of social media on child feeding approaches among Hispanic mothers. The study majorly examined low-income mothers in the Hispanic population. The results indicated that a majority of the Hispanic mothers own cellphones that have messaging capabilities and can access social media. Further, the investigators discovered that mobile health technologies and social media platforms had been recognized as viable in promoting healthy behaviors among Hispanic people. The researchers demonstrated that their Hispanic mothers' sample in Detroit demonstrated high social media usage rates. Some Hispanic mothers reported turning to social media to get health information. A majority of them indicated that they would like to use social media-based interventions to promote healthy behaviors for their kids.
Since low-income Hispanic mothers are on social media, particularly Facebook, having the images on the platform will ensure that the campaign reaches a broad audience. In particular, having the images on Facebook groups and pages targeting Hispanic mothers will be critical to ensure that the information reaches the target audience. For instance, a Facebook page called "Hispanic Mama" has more than 2,700 followers. The page is dedicated to disseminating information that concerns Hispanic mothers. The page broadcasts Hispanic traditions, including clothing, foods, and lifestyles. Having the images on such Hispanic-oriented Facebook pages and groups would ensure that Hispanic mothers access the information easily. Paid promotions on Facebook will ensure that the images reach a broader audience.
(b) Magazines
Magazine articles are critical in disseminating information, especially to parents. Reputable magazines have a wider reach, and parents purchase them to get information, especially on health issues affecting their families. For instance, Parents Latina Magazine is dedicated to providing Hispanic parents with the information they need to raise their children. The magazine assists parents in raising healthy multicultural children who are rooted in the Hispanic family heritage while ensuring that they can shape the future of the U.S. (Parents Latina Magazine, 2021). A CDC (2021) report demonstrates Hispanics read magazines to keep themselves updated on the latest styles and trends. The report further indicates that People, People en Español, National Geographic, Time, and Sports Illustrated are the top five most read magazines among the Hispanics in the U.S. Placing the images on any of the magazines will guarantee that Hispanic parents, especially mothers, can see them. The images will be placed on articles that explain more about obesity. This will ensure that many parents see the images while being educated on the dangers of childhood obesit...