What We Eat

It seems that people are becoming more and more aware of how bad fast food is for the body. We’ve all heard the saying “you are what you eat”. So why are professional athletes encouraging their fans to eat such unhealthy foods?

There are always new ads coming out with a pro athlete endorsing a product that probably isn’t the healthiest. However, that doesn’t stop them when they have the chance to make some extra money simply by starring in a commercial. In an article titled “Pro athletes’ ads favor less healthful food, drinks” on USA Today, author Michelle Healy states, “kids ages 12 to 17 were the primary viewers of athlete-endorsement food commercials”. So what kind of message is being sent to kids when their favorite athletes are basically telling them to eat all this unhealthy food?  

            A good guess could be that these athletes don’t even eat the products they’re selling. We all know that professional sports players have to follow a strict diet to keep up with the strenuous activity that comes with their jobs. So why would they do it? My guess would be for money. “Kobe Bryant earned an estimated $12 million a year from his endorsement contract with McDonald’s” (MacVean).  $12 million for selling McDonald’s to fans!? Mary MacVean also mentioned Payton Manning and Serena Williams in the article, as being star athletes who endorse unhealthy products.

            When drawing conclusions to the question my group researched, we clearly see that professional athletes endorse foods they shouldn’t. However, their reasoning could be for the payday, and I don’t blame them.

 Healy, Michelle. "Pro Athletes' Ads Favor Less Healthful Food, Drinks." USA Today. Gannett, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/07/athletes-food-drinks/2918431/

MacVean, Mary. "Star Athletes like LeBron, Serena Cash in on Junk Food Endorsements." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2013. Web. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/oct/07/news/la-sn-athlete-food-endorsements-20131004