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Introduction
The nutrition, physical fitness and wellness concentration has taken America by a huge wave. Nutritionists, physical trainers, yoga, Pilates and other forms of body improvement are now the norm in the daily lives of Americans. The degree of variance often differs from one society or region to another owing to the economic and cultural setting. A combination of factors has molded the nutrition procedure in America: FDA, the media, self-awareness and pop culture (nutrition papers).
The FDA and Media influence on nutrition
The health and lifestyle complications have been of growing concern in the last decade. Child obesity is one of the most trying issues that many in authority have taken measures to handle. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is a competent federal agency that has long been in charge of regulating public health through food safety, drug approval or regulation, cosmetics or any other products that can cause effects when consumed or exposed to the body (Beaudry, Hamelin & Deslie 36).
The FDA works under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to regulate the quality of food substances and supplements and ensure they are of required human consumption standards. This means that the agency is in charge of testing, sampling, labeling, quantities and dietary formatting functions.
The nutritional constitution is a factor that is commonly popularized by the agency in the nutrition advertising and awareness. The American population pays great attention to the constituent ingredients and dietary components when purchasing food. This has both emerged and progressed from the tendency to monitor calories and serving sizes as popularized by physical fitness and workout authorities. They have coupled this clear outlining with subsequent advertising, branding and marketing of food and supplements in the same light. The agency has managed to keep up with the latest research in nutrient value which it then translates to its functions.
As much as the FDA regulates the nutritional practices in American societies at a structural level, the media and pop culture have played the biggest role in the social influencers that affect nutrition across communities. This includes radio, television and print media. These mediums are great influencers of the consumer market. Media majorly relies on advertisement as their major source of income, for this reason commercials and advertisements are often run across all platforms. These strategies of marketing which will involve creative and catchy illustrations are hugely responsible for the consumer pattern in food substances (Mitchell 78).
The advertising is also properly and strategically synchronized with times that will translate to more viewings when most people are at home and most likely to be watching television (Lopez 3). The TV medium is as a result the most effective form of advertisement in stimulating sectors such as food consuming. Marketing and advertising is now highly reliant and tuned to psychological tactics that boot the extent of their efforts and resonate with the viewers and subsequent consumers (Worsley & Lawrence 89). Pop culture has served to advance this phenomenon with the popularization of trends and consumer tendencies that are regarded as acceptable and trendy. The Internet and social media is a prominent promoter of food trends on a personal and brand level (Lopez 2). The younger generation of teenagers and young adults has propelled this trend further.
Conclusion
The health of an individual is as much a personal responsibility as it is the public health sector. People and smaller societies must take up the challenge of valuing their health and well-being beyond media and pop culture. This requires genuine research on food and healthy nutrition that surpasses all forms of hype and popularity shallowness. Undoubtedly, media is one of the biggest influencers on American nutrition and will continue to do so. The biggest challenge is to sieve out genuine health and nutrition information and incorporate it into personal feeding habits with the consultation of a nutritionist or dietician.
References
Lopez, J. (2014, August 6). The Influence of Media on our Food Choices. Retrieved from The Food Journal.Web
Beaudry, M. Hamelin, A. & Deslie,H (2004). Public Nutrition: An Emerging Paradigm. Canadian Journal of Public Health, Vol.95, No. 5. Web
Mitchell, M. K. (1997). Nutrition across the life span. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders. Print
Worsley, T. & Lawrence, M. (2007). Public Health Nutrition: From Principles to Practice. Sydney: Alien & Unwin. Print
