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Annotated Bibliography

Strasburger, Victor., Council on Communications and Media; Children, Adolescents, Obesity,

and the Media. Pediatrics July 2011; 128 (1): 201–208. 10.1542/peds.2011-1066

Author of the Article Policy Statement-Children, Adolescents, Obesity and the Media is Doctor

Victor Strasburger, MD. He is Board Certified by American Academy of Pediatrics. He has

written 13 books and more than 200 articles. He has traveled around the world doing various

lectures and he now has media that is used in communication sources around the world. He did

his “internship and Residency at Children's Hospital in Seattle and Boston Children's Hospital, as

well as Paddington Green Children's Hospital in London. He did his fellowship in Adolescent

Medicine at Harvard Medical School. In the First 6 years as Director of Adolescent Medicine at

Yale-Bridgeport Hospital.  Then 28 years starting the Adolescent Medicine program at the

University of New Mexico School of Medicine. He is a distinguished Professor of Pediatrics

Emeritus.”(Strasburger,2018)

Dr. Strasburger uses over 100 references from articles, studies and surveys. His purpose in this

article is to improve the health of children. He may have some bias, as he is married to a

neuropsychiatrist, and this could influence his writings and possible personal beliefs, however it

did not appear that way in the readings.

The method in which Dr. Strasburder uses is a standard by pediatrics. Pediatrics is a peer

reviewed journal for the American academy of pediatrics. Here they publish the original

research, clinical observations and special feature articles. There is a standard and instructions

that Dr. Strasburger must follow.

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In Review of the article studies in countries around the world show that there is a strong

correlation between blood sugar levels with young population with type 2 diabetes, hypertension,

metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high cholesterol and the time that they spend watching

TV. The study showed that when the TV time was diminished so are the adiposity measures. Dr.

Strasburger states that mechanisms play a role, such as 40% of caloric intake by children is

found to be solid fat and sugars. It is also found that 10 % of total calories in children comes

from soda or fruit drinks. He also argues that there is a displacement of more active pursuits that

there is an average of more than 7 hours a day on media, second to sleep. Although one study

found that the type of media used such as when using the Nintendo Wii sport and dance

revolution was similar expenditure of calories as a moderate intensity walk. There is also a

correlation between children having TV’s in their bedrooms as opposed to children who do not.

More specifically teens, as they are more sedentary, and they miss family meals. Dr. Strasburger

also reports that unhealthy eating habits and the effects of advertisement of unhealthy food such

as fast food could also be a factor. This seems to be the purpose of the article with much other

detail. Adolescents that have more screen time are found to have high fat diets, drink more soda

and consume more calories. They eat less fruits and vegetables. Researchers argue that watching

tv while eating could suppress your cues of satiety which in turn leads to overeating and

consuming more calories than needed. Although over the years the advertisement has gone

down due to less commercials it is still a larger impact on teenagers than young children or

adolescents. In one resource experiment it showed that adolescents are to consume 45% more

snacks when exposed to food advertisement. Dr. Strasburger’s last point is the effects of media

on sleep patterns. A study done in New York found that adolescents viewing 3 or more hours a

day doubled the risk for difficulty falling asleep compared with the adolescents who watch less
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than 1 hour per day. Sleep loss may result in increased snacking and consumption of less than

healthy foods to maintain energy levels. Children who do not get enough sleep have metabolic

changes as well as sedentary behavior. A Scottish study suggests that TV produces great

psychological stress in children ages 4-12 and although his affect was independent, it was

exacerbated by the decreases in exercise.

Dr. Strasburger’s conclusion states that it is clear that media plays a significant importance in the

obesity epidemic in children and adolescents. One affect he believes is the advertisements of

junk food or fast food. Also, there has been a change in good nutritional practices that has been

caused by the increase in media screen time. In order to be successful in changing this epidemic

in childhood obesity and adolescent obesity the requirement will need to start with changing

society’s views of media exposure, screen time and acknowledging that there is a huge risk

factor for obesity depending on the time spent on screens and having media exposure. The

habits of the young people’s media and the advertisements that they are exposed to has a large

impact and will need to be changed and addressed by society.

The conclusion is precise in that it is not stating that it is the only factor in childhood and

adolescent obesity, but that it is a large impact that needs to be recognized and changed in

society. There are multiple supporting documents that show the obesity rate over time and the

reported screen time that children have at a certain age. The conclusion is justified by all

research in that it is a factor and not the direct cause. The conclusions are implying to ban or

change the advertisement of junk food or fast food in order to help eliminate the desires for

children to want the fast food or junk food. It is believed that this causes them to want to snack

more because they are seeing advertisement. The conclusion does not seem to be skewed by bias.
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The content of the article is 11 years old, this could be reflected and the cases could be much

higher than previously reported, however it is taking years to show numbers of research. The

article itself seems to be written to change a policy for advertising junk food and fast food. With

the recent change in distance learning due to the pandemic there could be a greater shift in

obesity that we won’t be able to see for 5 or more years.

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Resources

Strasburger, V. (2018) (n.d.). Author & media expert distinguished professor emeritus, UNM
Medical School. Victor Strasburger MD. Retrieved May 28, 2022, from
https://drvictorstrasburger.com/