Is There a Connection Between Childhood Obesity and Television Ads?

It probably hasn’t surprised any parent to find out that the highest percentage of food ads aimed at children were for candy and snacks. Experts feel that these are one of the contributing factors to the increased rates of childhood obesity.

I can’t say myself for certain. The ads certainly do attract children’s attention; Ariel is at the age where every ad she sees is something we “must” have, whether or not she understands what the product is. But we don’t buy everything she asks for.

I think there are a combination of factors at play here. Certainly children are more aware of the nonhealthy options due to all the commercials, but the younger ones can’t get that stuff alone. It still takes an adult to provide the unhealthy foods.

There’s talk about federal regulation versus self regulation by the companies. I prefer the idea of self regulation, simply because federal regulations have a way of having either loopholes or being overly restrictive. Combine self regulation with parents understanding their own part in the problem and I think the problem could be taken care of more effectively.

You also have to combine these issues with how easy it is for children to be sedentary these days. Less time in school spent in physical activities is an issue, as is time spent on the computer, watching television and playing computer games. Many parents are reluctant to let their children play outside without direct supervision, so if the parents are busy, the kids are stuck inside.

Yes, all kinds of things contribute to the problem so far as I can tell, not just one.

Given the lifelong problems associated with obesity, I do think more needs to be done to make both parents and children aware of the issues. It’s a real problem, with a complex basis, and needs to be addressed on a variety of levels.

[tags]childhood obesity,television ads,junk food ads,children[/tags]