Media Resource Report: Sugar Intake in Children (7067SOH, University)

This report examines a media resource developed for parents of children aged 5 to 11, focusing on the critical issue of excessive sugar intake. The assignment begins with an evidence-based rationale, highlighting the adverse health effects of high sugar consumption in childhood and the significant influence parents have on their children's dietary habits. It then provides background information on the target audience, emphasizing the importance of parental education and the prevalence of sugary foods in children's diets. The report critically appraises existing media resources, such as the Liverpool City Council's initiative, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in terms of content, design, and credibility. The aims and objectives of the developed media resource are clearly outlined, aiming to educate parents on sugar sources, harmful effects, and mitigation strategies. The report discusses the application of the framing theory in the resource's development, emphasizing its role in educating and suggesting solutions. Finally, the report reflects on the role of media in disseminating nutritional information, considering the advantages and disadvantages of different media formats, such as online and printed resources, and concludes with the expectation that the resource will enhance parental awareness regarding the importance of limiting sugar intake in children's diets. The resource is designed to be a two-page poster, intended for online distribution.

Running head: MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE: POSTER FOR PARENTS ON SUGAR INTAKE B
CHILDREN
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
Introduction
Excessive sugar intake can inflict a range of adverse health effects during childhood and
increase the risk of chronic metabolic disorders during adulthood. This is major cause for
concern especially considering the prevalence of sugary foods and beverages in the current diets
of children in the United Kingdom (UK) (Reale et al. 2018). The following scientific statement
will discuss on the various media resources, evidence based research and media theories which
were considered for the development of a media resource targeting parents of 5 to 11 year old
children.
Discussion
Evidence-based Rationale
Since children are often dependent on parents for a number of their basic needs, parental
role and supervision during this period is imperative to the values a child acquires and continues
to reap during adulthood. Dietary and food selection habits are no different. Parents have been
evidenced to rely extensively on personal consumption as well as offer their children, beverages
and drinks rich in added sugars such as non-alcoholic, sugar sweetened beverages, packaged
juices, biscuits and cookies, namely due to their convenience and desirable taste (Battram et al.
2016). Additionally parents often lack awareness on how the consumption of such foods
contribute to high sugar intake and increased risk of health issues like obesity, diabetes and
cardiovascular diseases in their children. Media has a powerful influence on individuals’ dietary
choices. It is thus imperative to develop evidence based, media resources targeted at enhancing
parental knowledge concerning the harmful effects and importance of limiting sugar intake by
their children (Hasson et al. 2018).

2MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
Background Audience
In a recent report published by the Guardian (Siddique 2016), it has been evidenced that
children are likely to imitate the dietary and food selection habits reflected by their children. It
was further reported that children in the age group of 4 to 8 years of age had 192% higher
chances of consuming soft drinks if their parents engage in the same, 115% higher chances of
consuming packaged fruit juices and 529% higher likelihood of consuming sugary smoothies if
their parents consumed the same as compared to children whose parents avoided such
consumption. Additionally, in another survey conducted across 1000 parents and children by
Public Health England, as reported by the BBC News (2018), children aged 4 to 10 years of aged
were consuming twice the amount of sugar as compared to national recommendations of an
average 13 cubes, of which, foods like fizzy beverages and packaged confectionaries were the
key culprits. Such data reflect the role of parents in influencing their children’s diet and the
immediate need to educate parents on the adverse health effects associated excessive sugar
intake.
Critical Appraisal
For better understanding of existing media resources targeting parents of children aged 5
to 11 years old, the media resource used by the Liverpool City Council to enlighten sugar levels
in popular beverages will be considered. From the title of the resource, it can be observed that
the target audience of the resource are parents with a special emphasis on parental habits of
giving sugary foods to children (Campbell 2016; Davis and Duke 2018). To further strengthen
their argument against sugar consumption, the authors have added comparative data on sugar
amounts in beverages and daily recommended values for children of various age groups.
However, there is no mention of authors’ qualifications, neither is their additional data on sugar

3MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
levels in the substitute, low sugar drinks recommended by the resource (Campbell 2016). This is
a limitation since addition of authors’ details and comprehensive data reflects that the resource is
the trustworthy and comprehensive (Dunn et al. 2018). However, the addition of lay language
and attractive images in the resource are advantages since these factors ensure reader
engagement (Campbell 2016; Semakula et al. 2019) (Appendix).
Aims and Objectives
Thus, with respect to the above, the aim of the developed healthcare based media
resource is ‘to educate and enhance awareness of parents of children aged to 5 to 11 years on the
major sources of added sugars in the diet, the harmful effects of excessive sugar intake and
strategies for mitigation of the same.’ Thus, the developed media resource is based on the
following objectives:
1. To educate parents of children aged 5 to 11 years on the major sources of added sugars in
the diet and current data on average consumption of sugars by children as compared to
national recommendations.
2. To educate parents of children aged 5 to 11 years on the harmful health effects which
may occur in children as a result of excessive sugar intake in the diet.
3. To educate parents of children aged 5 to 11 years on possible dietary strategies which can
be used to limit sugar and ensure positive health outcomes in children.
Media Theory
The given sample resource can be implied to adopt a framing theory – a type of media
theory which aims to educate the public on specific issues and how the same can be applied or
corrected. A framing theory is evident since the resource clearly aims to not just educate parents

4MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
but also suggest them ways on limiting sugar in children’s diet. With this respect, the resource to
be developed will also adopt a framing theory approach since it aims to educate parents on the
harmful effects and amounts of sugar in various food items as well as the ways in which they can
be limited in a child’s diet (Appendix) (Ortega and Feagin 2016; Campbell 2016).
Critical Reflection
A two page poster resource using a framing theory has been developed. The resource will
be disseminated in the form of an online resource which parents can read and refer to for daily
life application. In criticism however, printed resources may demonstrate less audiences as
compared to video resources since audiovisuals are considered more attractive (Parry et al.
2016). However, online video resources may not always be accessible by people with limited
technical knowledge and thus a printed resource, with colorful graphics and lay language, like
the developed resource, is more convenient since it can be printed, handed to, explained to and
referred to by the target audience (Bago and Lompo 2019).
Conclusion
This paper thus provides a concise yet comprehensive insight into the underlying
evidence based rationales, media resources and theoretical perspectives which were considered
for the development of a healthcare media resource. To conclude, it is expected that the
developed resource will assist in enhancing awareness in parents on the importance of limiting
sugar intake in 5 to 11 year old children.

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References
Bago, J.L. and Lompo, M.L., 2019. Exploring the linkage between exposure to mass media and
HIV awareness among adolescents in Uganda. Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 21, pp.1-8.
Battram, D.S., Piché, L., Beynon, C., Kurtz, J. and He, M., 2016. Sugar-sweetened beverages:
children's perceptions, factors of influence, and suggestions for reducing intake. Journal of
nutrition education and behavior, 48(1), pp.27-34.
BBC News, 2018. Children Having '4,800 Sugar Cubes A Year'. [online] BBC News. Available
at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/health-44483081> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
Campbell, D., 2016. Liverpool In Drive To Name And Shame Fizzy Drink Brands. [online] the
Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/07/liverpool-fizzy-
drink-brands-sugar-obesity> [Accessed 7 April 2020].
Davis, K.C. and Duke, J.C., 2018. Evidence of the real-world effectiveness of public health
media campaigns reinforces the value of perceived message effectiveness in campaign
planning. Journal of Communication, 68(5), pp.998-1000.
Dunn, H.K., Pearlman, D.N., Beatty, A. and Florin, P., 2018. Psychosocial determinants of
teens’ online engagement in drug prevention social media campaigns: Implications for public
health organizations. The journal of primary prevention, 39(5), pp.469-481.
Hasson, R.E., Hsu, Y.W.J., Davis, J.N., Goran, M.I. and Spruijt-Metz, D., 2018. The influence of
parental education on dietary intake in Latino youth. Journal of immigrant and minority
health, 20(1), pp.250-254.

6MEDIA RESOURCE IN HEALTHCARE
Ortega, F.J. and Feagin, J.R., 2016. Framing Theory. The Routledge Companion to Media and
Race.
Parry, R., Pino, M., Faull, C. and Feathers, L., 2016. Acceptability and design of video-based
research on healthcare communication: Evidence and recommendations. Patient Education and
Counseling, 99(8), pp.1271-1284.
Reale, S., Kearney, C.M., Hetherington, M.M., Croden, F., Cecil, J.E., Carstairs, S.A., Rolls, B.J.
and Caton, S.J., 2018. The feasibility and acceptability of two methods of snack portion control
in United Kingdom (UK) preschool children: Reduction and replacement. Nutrients, 10(10),
p.1493.
Semakula, D., Nsangi, A., Oxman, M., Rosenbaum, S.E., Oxman, A.D., Austvoll-Dahlgren, A.,
Glenton, C., Lewin, S., Kaseje, M., Morelli, A. and Fretheim, A., 2019. Development of mass
media resources to improve the ability of parents of primary school children in Uganda to assess
the trustworthiness of claims about the effects of treatments: a human-centred design
approach. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 5(1), pp.1-17.
Siddique, H., 2016. Young Children Copy Parents' Sugary Drinks Habits, Study Suggests.
[online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/01/young-
children-copy-parents-sugary-drinks-study-suggests-fizzy> [Accessed 7 April 2020].

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Appendix
 Link to sample media resource:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/may/07/liverpool-fizzy-drink-brands-sugar-
obesity.
 Link to developed resource (PDF): Poster for Parents of Children aged 5 to 11 years.
 Link to developed resource (Word): Poster for Parents of Children aged 5 to 11 years.
 Link to developed resource (Word): Poster Resource.docx
 Link to developed resource (PDF): Poster Resource.pdf
Dear Student,
We had already created links to both the word and pdf files to the document and have
added the same again in red font to highlight. However, we believe you are unable to access the
links due to a change in computers and because you do not have the poster saved separately in
your computer. We are suggesting you the following steps which we feel may be helpful to you.
1. Firstly, download the files 'Poster Resource' in both pdf and word document format. These
were already attached to you previously. We are however attaching the same again for your
benefit.
2. After saving, keep a note of the location of these files.
3. Next, in the Appendix section where you want the files to be linked, right click or go the
'Insert' tab, and select the 'Hyperlink' option. To make you understand the same, we have
attached a screenshot.

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4. Once you click on that option, you will be directed to a box where you can select the files you
want to link with. It is where we suggest you to add the location of the previously downloaded
Poster resources.
We apologise for the inconvenience but the problem is technical in nature and this is the
best we can do to assist you. Kindly follow these steps and let us know if it has helped you. For
further assistance we are also attaching a link suggesting various ways of linking a file - method
4 is the method we have suggested. We strongly suggest you to go through the same. Kindly
keep us updated in case of any issues.
https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/5-smart-ways-link-one-word-document-another/