Childhood Obesity: Audience Segmentation

Childhood Obesity: Audience Segmentation

Amber France

Concordia University

Childhood Obesity: Audience Segmentation

Introduction

Childhood obesity has become a serious problem in the United States with 13.9% of 2-5 year olds, 18.8% of 6-11 year olds, and 17.4% of 12-19 year olds being obese (Rao, 2008). Diseases that once affected only adults are now affecting children, due to obesity (Hannon, Rao, & Arsianian, 2005). A four-stage approach, limiting consumption of sweetened beverages and fast food, limiting screen time, engaging in physical activity for at least 60 minutes per day, and family meals on most days of the week, is recommended to treat childhood obesity (Rao, 2008). Limiting children’s screen time will be the focus of this campaign.

Population of Interest

Both socioeconomic status and screen time have been associated with greater rates of obesity among children (Epstein et al., 2008). Therefore, the population of interest for this campaign isparents of children ages 2-5 years on the WIC program, who are enrolled in Fit Families. Fit Families is a behavior change program for families of children, between the ages of 2 and 5 years, on the WIC program. The program has three core messages: move more, watch less, make every bite count, and make every sip count. There is also an overarching message of eat healthy, be active: your kids are watching you. The campaign will be geared towards the parents of the children on the WIC program, but will also be appealing to the children.

Segmentation

The target audience of this campaign is parents of children ages 2-5 years in WIC who are enrolled in the Fit Families program. This target audience was chosen after segmentation. Resnick & Siegel (2013) discuss how audiences can be segmented based on a variety of different criteria but the population should first be segmented based on current behavior. To begin, this campaign could reach all parents of children ages 2-5 years in the United States. This population is then broken down to parents of children ages 2-5 years in Wood County, then to those enrolled in the WIC program, and further to those enrolled in Fit Families. Secondary audiences are childcare providers and community organizations such as the YMCA, parks and recreation (for safe parks and sidewalks), and Head Start. Choosing parents of children ages 2-5 years in WIC who are enrolled in the Fit Families program meets the five criteria Resnick & Siegel (2013) reference to selecting a target audience. Choosing this segment allows the target audience size to be appropriate and attainable, and also targets an audience that would benefit from the behavior change. When segmenting the WIC program parents into doers and non-doers, the target audience would be considered the doers. Resnick & Siegel (2013) discuss the importance of selecting a target audience that is interested in making a change, or the program will need to work much harder to make a behavior change. Selecting an audience that is likely to make the behavior change will allow for a more population-wide impact. This target audience is likely to respond to the health messaging, because they have already made the commitment to make a behavior change by enrolling in Fit Families. There are also many resources available to this audience through the Fit Families program and the secondary audiences are already collaborating with this program to assist with the behavior change.

Rationale

The target audience for the campaign was selected based off of the five criteria Resnick & Siegel (2013) discuss and also based off of research that shows increased screen time early in life, especially those with a lower socioeconomic status, can play a role in childhood obesity. Mendoza, Zimmerman, & Christakis (2007) conducted a cross-sectional study, with children ages 2-5 from the NHANES 1999-2002, to determine the effects of screen timeon obesity and adiposity. They concluded that screen time greater than 2 hours per day in the form of television was associated with an increase in obesity and adiposity, and computer use was associated with only an increase in adiposity.

Socioeconomic status also plays a role in sedentary behavior and caloric intake among children. Epstein et al. (2008) found that there is an association between sedentary behavior andcaloric intake and socioeconomic status. This randomized control trialwas done with seventy 4-7 year olds, whose BMI’s were greater than 75% for their age and gender. The children were randomly placed into an intervention group that was either exposed to decreased screen time by 50% or a control group,were screen time was not regulated. BMI, screen time, caloric intake, physical activity, and socioeconomic status were measured. The intervention group showed a greater reduction in sedentary behaviors, caloric intake, and BMI. Individuals with a lower socioeconomic status showed the greatest reductions when compared to the control group. They concluded that screen time makes a bigger impact then physical activity in decreasing BMI, especially among those with a lower socioeconomic status. Barr-Anderson, Larson, &Nelson (2009) found that screen time greater than 2 hours per day was associated with poorer dietary habits later in life. They conducted a study that surveyed middle school and high school students at baseline and then again 5 years later. They found that those surveyed at baseline who watch greater than 5 hours of television were more likely to consume lower fruit, vegetable, whole grain, and calcium-rich foods and higher trans-fat, fried foods, fast foods, snacks, and sugar-sweetened beverages when surveyed 5 years later. These results indicate that behavior choices are influenced at an early age.

Summary

Parents of children ages 2-5 years in the WIC who are enrolled in the Fit Families program is the target audience chosen for this campaign. Screen time has been shown to play a role in childhood obesity, especially among those with a low socioeconomic status. Targeting the campaign on this audience, who is ready to make a behavior change, will help the program succeed and also make a bigger impact on the population as a whole.

References

Barr-Anderson, D.J., Larson, N.I., Nelson, M.C., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (2009). Does television viewing predict dietary intake five years later in high school students and young adults? International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 6. Retrieved from

Epstein, L.H., Roemmich, J.N., Robinson, J.L., Paluch, R.A., Winiewicz, D.D., Fuerch, J.H., & Robinson, T.N. (2008). A randomized trial of the effects of reducing television viewing and computer use on body mass index in young children. Pediatrician Adolescent Medicine, 162(3), 239-245. Retrieved from AT=&fulltext=%22screen+time%22+and+%22obesity%22&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcet ype=HWCIT

Hannon, T.S., Rao, G., Arsianian, S.A. (2005). Childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Pediatrics, 116(2), 473-480. Retrieved from

Mendoza, J.A., Zimmerman, F.J.,Christakis, D.A. (2007). Television viewing, computer use, obesity, and adiposity in US preschool children. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity,4. Retrieved from

Rao G. (2008). Childhood obesity: highlights of AMA Expert Committee recommendations. American Family Physician, 78(1), 56-63. Retrieved from

Resnick, E. A. & Siegel, M. (2013). Marketing Public Health: Strategies to Promote Social Change. Burlington: Jones & Bartlett Learning.