Watching Food Commercials

Children become fatter by watching food commercials aimed at them and a ban on fast food TV advertising would reverse childhood obesity trends, according to a new study.

By Sarah Hills, 20-Nov-2008

Here is an interesting article from Food Navigator. For more go HERE.

Meanwhile, after reading the article, I think the focus on food has become unmanageable with most kids. The desire to eat high fat, high salt foods has become an unhealthy goal for a lot of children because sweets are now politically incorrect. The correct thing to do is serve a steady diet of "healthy" snacks like fruit, vegetables and crackers.

But there are problems with even these extraordinarily healthy foods. Fruit is digested in 30 minutes and does not create that sense of fullness for very long, so consequently, the child's desire for food never ceases. Having "healthy snacks" six times between meals will ultimately destroy meal time. Question? What is the tease of constant fruit doing to cause early onset diabetes?

When the child sees a commercial for McDonald's, and the desire for food weight and substance becomes overwhelming. Unconsciously or even consciously the child is saying to himself, "That's what I want."

The next best thing would be chips -- allowable for parents but frowned on for children, so this "golden delicious idol" becomes a child's next desire especially if they are in the house. Crackers are a modern parent's diversion from chips, but actually, some chips are a lot healthier than crackers which are high in fat and sodium and have little or no food value. A Snickers bar has more food value than most crackers. Homemade cookies have three times the food value of boxed crackers provided the contents are whole grain.

The mistake most parents make begins with a parents' constant focus on feeding, feeding, feeding. When snack after snack after snack after snack becomes the prize of the day, the consequences are that meal time becomes a battle zone, duh! The child has not been allowed to become really hungry - bored perhaps and whining for food or drink, but not actually hungry.

Establishing a routine with children that works depends on a family's individual schedule. But the best project is to establish three eating times by the clock and stick to it. We eat breakfast at 7:00; lunch at 12:00; and dinner at 6:00. That gives plenty of time to have a snack between meals and still let the child become genuinely hungry.

And drinks are not better served! Personally, I think drinks are the culprit that actually cause children to become overweight and have bad teeth. That constant sipping of milk or juice is a drain on the system and can lead to diabetes as well. Drinks other than water allow a child to fend off hunger for about 15 minutes.

Hunger is not the enemy of children - it's a disciplinary friend that teaches many things like a true desire for food, an enjoyment for meals, and it prompts picky eaters to really eat.