Would Banning Fast Food Ads Make Kids Thinner?

Banning commercials for cigarettes targeted at children helped decrease smoking.

I bet limits on fast food advertising would have a positive effect.

But our society likes fast food too much to stop eating it just because there are less commercials. We'll see what happens.

Let's see...if throughout my life I hadn't been exposed to fast-food commercials, then yes! of course I would've eaten at McDonald's at half the frequency. (Those Happy Meal ads are especially enticing!)

If we want kids to focus more on healthy foods and encourage them to practise healthy habits, then banning fast food ads would be one step in the right direction.

I think thats taking it too far. We shouldn't ban a company's ability to advertise. They are a business after all and they should be able to freely advertise.

Instead of banning the ads why not just incur strong healthy habits in the kids... then once the big companies realize their ads are not working they will eventually stop anyways.

Its a more suddle and powerful way of going about it IMO.

Sahil M
flawlessfitnessbook.com

I don't know if any of you have read Susan Linn's amazing book called 'Consuming Kids'... but the research on how advertising affects children's nag factor for fast food leaves little doubt about how powerful it is, and a lot of it is downright sneaky.

Susan Linn points out how marketers create concerns and products to fill them.

Marketers first make you believe your child has defects they don’t even have. Then in a typically sneaky marketing move, they position their product as the solution to your fears. It’s the ‘must-have solution if you’re really a ‘concerned parent’. E.g. watching Teletubbies will help a child feel more confident to play (As if children ever needed any help playing!).

At the same time they’re working hard to create another notch in their marketing success plan. As a giveaway, they pair Teletubbies with calorie-laden, obesity-creating, upside-down-food pyramid fast foods.

And once again, they are the kindly benefactor offering desperate (and grateful) parents the solution. Teletubbies, having helped create the obesity problem, now promoting exercise for toddlers with their ‘Get up and Go… Teletubbies stand up to Obesity in kids.’’

I'm all for stopping advertising for products that are every bit as unhealthy as smoking.

Banning commercials?

I've always been torn on all the smoking bans because on the one hand I think it's a horrible habit that not only harms the person doing it, but also anyone in the area not to mention the increased health care costs and taxes for the rest of us. However on the other hand it impinges on our rights as a free society.

Do I think banning fast food ads will be a good thing? Maybe, but probably not.

Why would it matter when the parents are still running their kids all around town and the easiest thing to stop and grab for dinner is fast food?

The kids will still want it and the parents will still give it to them.

If the parents wise up and stop buying the crap for themselves, the kids will follow suit.

Banning commercials of a "legal" business is just going to far. Have they overturned the child labor laws in our country? If not, then we really need to take a look at who is supplying/buying kids fast food: the parents! Any parent that advocates banning fast food commercials is seriously passing the buck IMO. The day that these fast food places "literally" hold a gun up to our heads and "force" us to eat their foods, then we can talk about bans, etc. Until then, parents need to step up to the plate and simply say NO to the "nag factor", which only works IF the parent gives in to their child's nagging. Personally, I think for myself and want to raise my kids the same way. I think claims of "the devil made me do it" or in this case "McDonald's made me buy my kids their unhealthy food because of their pretty commercials" is absurd and parents need to be more responsible in how they raise their kids.

No, "banning" doesn't work...and it sounds ridiculous!!! I was your typical overweight kid. The best thing you could do is get the kid active, and get them eating nutritious, delicious things at home not at restaurants. And teaching the kids all about healthful eating and lifestyle. The problem sort of lies with the parents... they are overworked, strapped for time, so they take shortcuts (eg. such as restaurants, less exercise, not able to teach kids about cooking at home) and it affects the kids. Then the kids all of the sudden are fat and don't know how to deal.... the parents don't even know how to deal, and the snowball begins. It all relies with personal responsibility, not "banning"... it might help a bit, but overall, it's not the complete answer. It's a complex problem.

...because all of horrible fast food ads forced weak-willed parents to give into their child whining.

What ever happened to self-control? No one is being forced are coaxed into eating fast food. Banning the damn thing is only going to teach people less self-control because they'll have the government to take all of those bad things away from them.

I think more parents need to be like mine were...when we wanted to go to McDonald's for a Happy Meal, the answer was "No, we're eating at home. No more whining!" It's not like we never ate there but it WAS only a special-occasion type of thing.

I think pointless stupid research should be banned if funds are involved. This is an example.

Maybe they should go outside and play instead of watching TV.

Banning fast food is silly. While I personally dislike it, it is like banning chocolate or cookies. You don't have to eat fast food! If you feed your kids healthy food, then that is what they will eat as adults.

If banning the ads did make kids thinner would that make it a good idea to ban advertisements?

No.

BAN FAST FOOD ADVERTISEMENTS!
The problem is, America does depend on the government too much. If banning fast-food advertisements are what will make America the role model we strive to be, then that's what we must do.
As I was reading through these comments, I realized that some of you thought we were out to ban fast food entirely. Not the case, people! We;re just talking ads here. If we were banning fast foods, I'd rebel :]
Come on, America, let's swallow our pride and save lives. Ban advertisements.

The fast food companies do something to their food so that it looks really good on the ads, and so that people will want to buy it. They do things to their chicken like washing it in detergent and blow torching it. Someone needs to stop the fast food companies from ruining so many people's lives! It is preposterous! It is almost like they want us to get overweight or obese. I may not be very old, but I can still see what is going on. Why can't the government!

we all have to create conscious we should encourage our children to eat a whopper Jr with salad or even better instead of a pepsi drink orange juice and for dessert Motts natural apple sauce with vitamin c, that's good thinking for healthier kids who love to eat at fast foods don't you think??

Everything in moderation! including commercials

ok the last time i checked my kids cant drive so i guess it would be better to say the parents who are to lazy to cook and go to fast food are the reason there kids are fat. today people feel the need to blame others then take responsiablity for there own actions.

Banning fast- food commercials during children's programming is important in terms of curbing our obesity epidemic. While I agree that fast-food restaurants have the right to advertise their products through commercials, they do not have the right to influence our children by using manipulative advertising techniques. It's bad enough that these restaurants have been given the freedom to invade school- zones let alone children's programming.