Would Banning Fast-Food Advertising Reduce Childhood Obesity?

What do You Think?

 Researchers say that banning fast food advertising still wouldn't work.

 

 

 Why Bans Don't Work

Ad bans have failed everywhere they've been tried. The list so far includes Sweden, Quebec, and Norway. None of these places have shown significant reductions in child obesity. In Sweden, the restrictions have been in place for a decade, yet the country's childhood obesity rates are in line with the rest of Europe.
There's no correlation between ad exposure and childhood obesity. George Mason University's Todd Zywicki noted at a forum last summer that the average American child actually watches less TV than he did 15 years ago. What's more, children face less exposure to food ads now than they did then, for a variety of reasons. The remote control has made ad-watching optional over the last 20 years, and more recent technology like TiVo may make traditional commercials completely obsolete.
Broadcast television is also losing younger viewers to cable, where ads in general are 40 percent less prevalent and where food ads comprise about half the percentage of overall ad time that they do in broadcast. Cable also offers more options for channel-flipping during commercials, and premium cable stations like HBO, which have no commercials at all, have become popular. All told, the average American child viewed 900 fewer food commercials in 2003 than he did in 1994. That this same average child gained weight amounts to a pretty solid rebuttal to the theory that food marketing is a significant contributor to childhood obesity.





 Source:
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What is New York Doing about Obesity?

1. Promotion of statewide TV turnoff weeks to all public and private schools in the state and other community-based organizations to encourage students to limit the amount of time they spend watching television.
2. Fifteen Eat Well, Play Hard community projects create environmental, policy and practice changes to increase healthy eating and physical activity in communities.
3. The Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program (HPNAP) implements policies to ensure that healthy foods, such as fresh produce, low-fat milk and whole grains, are available through the emergency food relief network.

• Is New York really trying to make a change? We really don't hear about some of these activities that New York does to help decrease the obese population. 

Childhood Obesity Epidemic

8,000 children under the age of five who are obese. To me these are shocking results and knowing that there are kids under the age of five who are obese. These kids barely even know how to read, let alone what is healthy and what isn't. What do the parents of these young children do about this? I am sure not all of the parents are responsible, because there are sometime it is just the child growing.

• If you were a parent anf you knew your child was classified under obesity, what would you do?
• How would you handle the situation?
• How could you get involved to prevent these problems happening in the United States?

What Is The Problem?

In 2009 New York Youth Risk Behavior Survey did a study to see how many high school students are actually obese and 11% were obese.

Unhealthy Dietary Behaviors 

•  0% ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day during the past 7 days. 

•  66% ate fruit or drank 100% fruit juices less than two times per day during the past 7 days.

•  0% ate vegetables less than three times per day during the past 7 days.

•  25% drank a can, bottle, or glass of soda or pop at least one time per day during the past 7 days.  

Physical Inactivity

• 17% did not participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity on any day during the past 7 days.

• 77% were physically active at least 60 minutes per day on less than 7 days during the past 7 days.

• 8% did not attend gym classes in an average week when they were in school.

• 85% did not attend gym classes daily when they were in school. 

• 33% watched television 3 or more hours per day on an average school day.

• 29% used computers 3 or more hours per day on an average school day.

This is a chart that shows the percentage of children who are over weight from the years 1973 to 2000. As you can see from 1999-2000 the percentage is 8-10% higher from the years 1976 to 1980.

Child Obesity Is Increasing Day By Day

What is Obesity?         
         A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index or BMI. A person is considered overweight if his or her BMI is between 25 and 29.9; a person is considered obese if his or her BMI is over 30.

Fact:

The number of obese children has doubled during the period of last three decades. Being overweight does not only mean to be over in size but it has certain complications attached to it. Obese children are on higher risk of developing, liver diseases, orthopedic problems and asthma. More than 70% obese adolescents retain their overweight and obese condition even during their adulthood.

What Causes Obesity?

         Obesity occurs when a person consumes more calories than he or she burns. For many people this boils down to eating too much and exercising too little.  Obesity doesnt always occur from eating too much, there are also other factors involved as well.

•  Age: As you get older, your body's ability to metabolize food slows down and you do not require as many calories to maintain your weight. This is why people note that they eat the same and do the same activities as they did when they were 20 years old, but at age 40, gain weight.
• Gender: Women tend to be more overweight than men. Men burn more energy at rest than women, so men require more calories to maintain their body weight.
• Illness: Although not as common as many believe, there are some illnesses that can cause obesity. These include hormone problems such as hypothyroidism, poorly acting thyroid slows metabolism, depression, and some rare diseases of the brain that can lead to overeating.
• Medication: Certain drugs, such as steroids and some antidepressants, may cause excessive weight gain.