Does advertising really make our children obese?

November 19, 9:14 PMSt. Louis Low-Carb ExaminerAmy Dungan

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Meanies! Look how they are forcing this kid to eat!!! Source

According to a recent study conducted by Shin-Yi Chou of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, banning fast-food advertising on television may reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent.

The thinking behind this study came from data on nearly 13,000 children from the 1979 Child-Young Adult National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, both issued by the U.S. Department of Labor.

"The advertising measure used is the number of hours of spot television fast-food restaurant advertising messages seen per week," they wrote in the Journal of Law and Economics.

"Our results indicate that a ban on these advertisements would reduce the number of overweight children ages 3-11 in a fixed population by 18 percent and would reduce the number of overweight adolescents ages 12-18 by 14 percent."

I find this interesting, but I think we can hardly fault the advertising. Who drives these kids to McDonalds and Burger King?  Most of them are hardly old enough to take themselves to a fast-food restaurant, let alone pay for the meal. When do we parents step up to the plate and take some responsibility for what our children eat? We mold our children’s eating habits when they are young. They watch us carefully and learn. (Don’t think so? Try eating something in front a toddler without them wanting a bite.)

“The Institute of Medicine reported in 2006 that there was compelling evidence linking food advertising on television and increased childhood obesity.

One study suggested that children viewed an average of about 20,000 commercials aired on television per year in the late 1970s, rising to 30,000 per year in the late 1980s and more than 40,000 per year in the late 1990s.”

Since the early 1970’s the government has informed us we should lower our fat intake and increase our carbohydrate intake. I guess that little fact would have no influence at all over this epidemic? Surely it has to be those evil fast-food commercials that just force us to drive to the nearest Taco Bell and then order the largest meal available. (Are we really mindless sheep?)

I’m having a hard time swallowing this theory. It seems to be sticking in my throat. Silly me. It’s probably due to that large order of fries I was force fed.