Child Obesity Ads

It’s a start at least.
It’s not junk food it’s self but bigger portions of junk food without family meals and not enough activity.
When junk food is the only food for sale in some babyhoods that’s the problem.

Reminds me a little of the McD's ads on NZ telly at the moment, minus the endorsments from an olympic cyclist and a "top nutritionist".

I agree that at least it is a step in the right direction, but the suspicious part of me is left wondering what food numbers are going into their recipes to make up for lack of "fat flavour"

"That's why we've been committed to reducing the fat content in our children's food since 2002 and have already removed over 50% of the saturated fat from our Captain Kid's range."

Because, of course, saturated fats are what's really making your kids fat and unhealthy. Last I checked, the short-chain saturated fats (butyric and capric acid) have been cleared, as well as medium-chain saturated fats like lauric acid. In fact, they may even be quite helpful. I've heard less about the long-chain saturated fats except for stearic acid, which has been found to be benign at worst and may even lower cholesterol.

What I've always found interesting is that if you look at the substance that actually clogs arteries, only about a quarter of it is saturated fat. The rest is unsaturated, mostly polyunsaturated.

Why does it make you cringe? Food companies totally have the capability to market healthier versions of their products. If they were to sincerely leverage that capability, they could be a big help in turning things around.

The problem is, as I see it now, they're trying to have it both ways. Putting healthier foods on the shelves and trumpeting their health-minded conversion while NOT removing their most unhealthy products from supermarkets.

Caramelle-oh... those McD adverts are awful. I can't believe that a nutritionist was prepared to sell her soul to the devil...

It makes me cringe because on the one hand they proudly announce how wonderfully nutrition product X is, and on the other hand they make awful stuff.

Caramelle-oh has it exactly right. McDonald's make a big deal about how wholesome their food is, and they even go so far as donating millions to support research into childhood obesity.... however their staple income earner will always be a greasy burger 'n' fries.

That makes me cringe. Large corporations make profits from selling food - not from supporting social issues.

Right now it's quite convenient to push the "healthy food" angle.

That ad is kinda...sad. I think the problem with child obesity, while it has to do with fast food, is also a result of school lunch food. I know high school isn't exactly during childhood, but we are still young. Our school serves processed chicken fingers with greasy fries. We also have what's called the "Sugar Shack" that sells big chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Often, that's what I'll end up buying for lunch because out of all the lines it's the quickest. If our school actually served good, healthy food, I think it would drastically cut down obesity rates because we'd be forced to either eat healthy food at school or bring our own unhealthy food. Sushi would be nice. :)

Shelly, I completely agree. Fortunately, my school is rather healthy. We have low-fat chips, a salad bar, and some greasy food, but not too much. THe problem is that instead of eating one bag of 100 calorie chips, I see people who eat three or four bags every day. People who eat salads put a handful of lettuce on and loads of cheese and fattening ranch dressing instead of vinegarette, and even though our fries and chicken are all baked, most kids still get an extra plate. They've even taken most pop out of our vending machines, so most people I know drink water or juice. (Although the 'juice' isn't completely juice either, it's still better than a Dew.)

I think the problem is that kids don't even know it's unhealthy. I'm thankfull I had a brillant health teacher my sophomore year. She taught us the truth about nutrition, and even had the cafeteria manager come into the classroom and talk to us.

I don't blame the kids, I blame the parents.

Good healthy habits start at home.

If mom binges on bon bons, and dad sits in front of the TV with a big bag of chips, do you honestly expect Junior to grab a stalk of celery?

Blame & finger pointing?

Unless you have been that child trapped in that body - you don't understand why this advertising is insidious.

Back when I was a fat kid, I was one of only a few.

It didn't stop people left right and centre blaming me and my parents.

Let's just say our modern society has made it clear for the last 25 years that I am not acceptable as a human being.

Yeah I let it get me down, I struggle with low self esteem, depression, and suicidal thoughts as a child and as an adult.

But I won't let you finger pointing b*stards beat me!

I took the 'low fat' message to heart and as gospel 10 years ago - it's the worst thing I could ever do!

All the 'debate' is fine, but my experience is the 'objective reality'.

That's my two cents.

Anyone have a clue as to what the Captain Kid's range is? I checked out the Bird's Eye website, and their list of Brands doesn't include anything with either Captain or Kids in it, and the Kids section is a bunch of games to play online (themed with Bird's Eye products, of course). So my question is, just what products are receiving the reduced-fat treatment, to save our children from the unhealthy variety of instant food?

If you take any more fat out of starchy instant food products, the kids will not be able to choke it down. Maybe that will solve obesity.

i think everyone should eat healthy exept every once in a while have something fried or sweet

♥DJ

"I took the 'low fat' message to heart and as gospel 10 years ago - it's the worst thing I could ever do!"

I was born in 1985. When the no-fat/low-fat craze started up, I was still very young and told my parents, a doctor and a nurse, that it was all a load of crap and that it would make people fatter and less healthy than ever. I ate lots of meat, eggs, and milk and grew to be 3 inches taller than anyone else in my family. I hardly got sick, was strong for my size, had dense bones, and had good cholesterol and blood sugar levels. My pediatrician was always amazed at how healthy I was.

I believe that children, especially infants, benefit from more fat in their diet rather than less. Once you're done developing, then you can think about reducing your fat intake. Kids need to be fed natural animal foods, fruits, and vegetables and exercised frequently.

"Caramelle-oh... those McD adverts are awful. I can't believe that a nutritionist was prepared to sell her soul to the devil..."

I know!!! I guess anyone can be bought for the right price. So, the cycle of misinformation goes on, thanks to corporate sponsorship. As for Sarah Ulmer, ahem... cough cough....sell-out...cough cough. I can understand sportspeople promoting sports shoes and clothing, but McD's? Another TV nutritionist that really bugs me is Marnie Oberer, it doesn't seem to matter what she is promoting as long as she gets paid. How is everyday Joe supposed to make healthy choices when we have trained "professionals" on TV endorsing rubbish?

Shelly and Cecilia, it's refreshing to read such great comments from teens.

Ryan, I agree, fats are an important part of any healthy diet, with a caveat, TransFats can be left out of the diet. These fats are.. While not man made, they are forced to go rancid and then treated with taste enhancers, perfumes and color to hide how bad they are.

Transfats are a big part of processed foods to incress shelf life, not your life.