Even adverts for 'healthy' fast food are bad for children – here's why they should be banned

[rangerrebew]

Even adverts for 'healthy' fast food are bad for children – here's why they should be banned
November 9, 2018 by Natalia Lawrence And Lucy Porter, The Conversation
 

Television adverts for foods which are high in fat, salt or sugar are banned from children's television schedules. Yet a McDonald's "Happy Meal" advert was recently ruled to be exempt from these restrictions.

Shown between episodes of Peppa Pig, the advert promoted a meal which included chicken nuggets, pineapple and water – a menu which passed the Advertising Standards Association's standards for healthy food. But, while it might be encouraging to see one of the world's biggest food giants promoting fruit, can a McDonald's advert ever truly be considered "healthy"?

It is clear that the huge amount of money spent on food advertising works. Campaigns are highly effective at persuading us to buy and eat more junk food, contributing to our expanding waistlines and hopelessly declining health.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-adverts-healthy-fast-food-bad.html

[dfwgator]

The biggest scam is "Low Fat" food.

[GtHawk]

Even adverts for 'healthy' fast food are bad for children – here's why they should be banned
November 9, 2018 by Natalia Lawrence And Lucy Porter, The Conversation
 

Television adverts for foods which are high in fat, salt or sugar are banned from children's television schedules. Yet a McDonald's "Happy Meal" advert was recently ruled to be exempt from these restrictions.

Shown between episodes of Peppa Pig, the advert promoted a meal which included chicken nuggets, pineapple and water – a menu which passed the Advertising Standards Association's standards for healthy food. But, while it might be encouraging to see one of the world's biggest food giants promoting fruit, can a McDonald's advert ever truly be considered "healthy"?

It is clear that the huge amount of money spent on food advertising works. Campaigns are highly effective at persuading us to buy and eat more junk food, contributing to our expanding waistlines and hopelessly declining health.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-11-adverts-healthy-fast-food-bad.html

It's the job of mommy and daddy to decide what their children eat, not some 'it takes a village' idiots. They have eliminated smoking commercials, but not smoking, I wonder why? And considering there is a whole industry built on anti smoking ads and campaigns as well as health care dependent on tobacco taxes, I doubt we ever will. All this talk about healthy eating and its not the real problem. Look at movies from the earliest years of Hollywood up to around the sixties and most of the people you see are fit, look at historical pictures of the public from those periods and you will see that most all the people look trim and fit. The problem is the lack of physical activity, kids used to run and play at school and at home. Now kids slump in front of the TV or their tablets and play games on them. Adults don't go out and play with their kids or each other, they too go straight home and vegetate in front of some sort of display screen.

[dfwgator]

I I doubt we ever will. All this talk about healthy eating and its not the real problem. Look at movies from the earliest years of Hollywood up to around the sixties and most of the people you see are fit, look at historical pictures of the public from those periods and you will see that most all the people look trim and fit. The problem is the lack of physical activity, kids used to run and play at school and at home. Now kids slump in front of the TV or their tablets and play games on them.

True. But as any trainer will tell you, you cannot out-train a bad diet.   Look at the portion sizes today compared to back then, also the calories of processed foods are much denser. 

[mirraflake]

The problem is the lack of physical activity, kids used to run and play at school and at home. Now kids slump in front of the TV or their tablets and play games on them. Adults don't go out and play with their kids or each other, they too go straight home and vegetate in front of some sort of display screen.[/size]

Agree but everything today is served in super sizes. People also eat out way more.  One-2 hour wait in most restaurants in my area 7 days a week.
@GtHawk

[GtHawk]

True. But as any trainer will tell you, you cannot out-train a bad diet.   Look at the portion sizes today compared to back then, also the calories of processed foods are much denser.

@dfwgator @mirraflake

I agree with both of you, portion size is another of those things that have really changed since the thirty and forties and maybe that came about in response to the depression and limited food during the war years, whichever, food portions followed the theme of bigger is better.

[Silver Pines]

The biggest scam is "Low Fat" food.

@dfwgator

It is.  Not only is it nasty, but when they take out the fat they replace it with sugar.

[Silver Pines]

True. But as any trainer will tell you, you cannot out-train a bad diet.   Look at the portion sizes today compared to back then, also the calories of processed foods are much denser.

@dfwgator

Agreed.  Activity/exercise is important for health, but body weight is largely determined by food intake.