Junk food ads banned during childrens TV *Has The world gone mad!!*

as reported on the news this morning:

"Junk food ad ban plans laid out
The broadcasting regulator is sticking to its plans to ban junk food ads during TV shows watched by under-16s.
Ofcom has concluded a consultation on its proposals for restricting ads for foods and drinks which are high in fat, salt and sugar, published in November.

Health campaigners had wanted a ban on junk food ads up to the 9pm watershed.

But Ofcom has said the ban, which will be phased in, will cover any shows teenagers will find appealing, whenever they are aired.

Ofcom had already said there would be a total ban on ads during children's programmes and on children's channels, as well as adult programmes watched by a large number of children.

After the consultation, it has been decided that the timetable will be:-


1 April 2007 - ads for foods high in fat, sugar and salt will be banned during or around programmes made specifically for children or those which would particularly appeal to children aged seven to nine,
1 January 2008 - junk food ads will banned in and around programmes aimed at, or which appeal to, children aged four to 15,
By December 2008 - Dedicated children's channels will have to have phased out all junk food ads.
Review

It has been estimated the ban will cost broadcasters an estimated £39 million in lost advertising revenue.


We are hugely disappointed that they didn't take the ban a step further
Peter Hollins, British Heart Foundation

Ofcom also said there would be new rules governing advertising to primary school age children.

The use of celebrities and characters, such as cartoon heroes, free gifts and health or nutrition claims will also be banned.

Ofcom suggests the package would mean that, in households where children's viewing includes a large number of programmes targeted at adults as well as those for children and young people, under-16s would see 41% fewer junk food ads.

A Food Standards Agency ratings system will be used to assess which foods are too high in fat, sugar and salt to be advertised to children.

Ofcom will review the effectiveness of the restrictions in the autumn of 2008.

But Ofcom's plans have come in for criticism.

Peter Hollins, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Despite all the evidence, Ofcom have turned their back on the right thing for the nation's children.

"We are hugely disappointed that they didn't take the ban a step further in the first place.

"A pre-9pm watershed ban is the best way to protect our kids and is what parents want to see happen1. It's time for the government to step in."

And Melanie Leech, director of industry body the Food and Drink Federation, said: "Ofcom notes TV advertising has a modest, direct effect on children's food choices and is only one among many influences.

"So today's decision will not, by itself, reduce childhood obesity; there are no silver bullets that can be fired at this particular problem."

She added: "We are disappointed that Ofcom has decided to extend the restrictions on advertising to cover young people.

"This is a disproportionate response given that the issue has always been about young children, and industry responded to Ofcom's initial consultation on that basis."





Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/6385345.stm

Published: 2007/02/22 10:44:14 GMT

© BBC MMVII"


do we really need a ban on ads?

i don't think so how about parents just dont buy junk food to feed the children. not much of a radical step now is it.

Because parents will find it hard to say no to kids. If a child sees an advert on TV for McDs or chocolate, not getting it will to them be very much on par with child abuse.

Yes Parents need to develop a backbone and learn to say 'no' and also explain to kids in a way they can understand that is emotional and heartfelt...

It's a sad that fact parents rely on the television as a babysitter these days and big companies are aware of this and will take advantage of this, advertising directly to the children using what is known in the marketing industry as 'The Nag Factor' (seriously!) effectively turning them into consumers at an early age.

The flipside of this is that if they are successful in banning the ads. Fastfood and sweets still have the mythic power via word of mouth, being treated as a dark secret which makes it all the more enticing and something of a holy grail for kids. Along the same lines as cigarettes and alcohol. If it's marketed as something for adults, the kids will probably want it more!

Actually as I'm typing I'm starting to find myself more aligned with the side of making parents take responsibility. It's only thing to 'treat' kids every now and again, it's another to pander to their every tantrum and keeping them placated by giving them what they want.

Obese parents almost certainly pass on their eating habits to their kids instead of looking at themselves in the mirror and deciding not to abandon their children to the same fate and lead by example...

Flipping back - corporations bad blah!

I'm with you on this one Mel. What will they bann next?

I'm glad they banned junk food ads.

You guys may be fit and healthy, but this is a step I'm glad to see being taken, the UK in general is well on the way to becoming a mini America, and this move may help prevent that.

Parents don't get as much of a say in the matter as you guys would like to believe, if the kids get some inkling to want to eat crap, they go out and find some way of getting hold of it themselves.

I've seen kids stating flat out they'd rather eat a bag of crisps than any kind of fruit, ever, as they 'taste better'.

I find that abhorrent.

I can't see that being anything more than advertising, and habit.

I wish it would happen here.

Being hypocritical here but despite having a junkfood diet myself I do long for the days when everyone bought food from the market and specialist shops in their baskets instead of having everything prepacked in wrappers that will get thrown away...

Although I welcome any act that moves people away from mass produced, badly sourced, unhealthy food I'm really not sure how much good this will do.

It is not too far removed from the smoking advert ban of 2003, where the department of health claims it will only reduce smoking by 2.5% in the long term. That is not to say that it was a pointless move, but I think the importance of adverts is over stressed.

In both cases I see the only point of the adverts is to keep them in the public mind. Someone who smokes will not stop smoking just because the adverts aren't there, and most people have a brand they like and will stick to no matter what.

What they will do it make the watcher feel like they are taking part in society. I really believe that these adverts address peoples need to be accepted, play of deep seated feelings that we almost all have, the same way as a cold reader would, for example: "You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you." will apply to most people reading this.

I don't know why, but the idea that taking your children to a fast food 'restaurant' is a treat seems popular. I think that idea is one that will remain for a long time no matter if there are adverts or not.

i'm against supermarkets and packeged foods also dave. i preffer my fruit and veg from markets and i cannot stand packaged meals simply for the act that the human diet wasn't designed for addatives, preservatives and all the other craap they pump into foods these days.

i could easy go into a rant about tesco but i will hold off as thats anther thread subject

This is one thing I can support and do think that in fact we do need protection from some ridiculous and BS ads...

Just my 2c

Reclaim yor mind

some of the things mentoned in this video do in some way tie into this subject

My diet isn't great either, but I am glad they're banning ads. I don't think that this in itself will make that much difference, as Neon said some kids will still want them if they're seen as a forbidden thing, but it's a small step in the right direction.

I think the issue is a pretty complex one, as it doesn't just relate to our cultural attitudes towards food but also the rest of our lifestyle, our attitudes towards health and our bodies.

There are a lot of parents out there who see junk food as the quickest/easiest/cheapest option when their kids are hungry. Some parents seem to be so busy juggling work and other responsibilities that their kids are left to sort themselves out when it comes to food. I remember when I was at primary school and both my parents were working long hours, my mum wouldn't trust me to cook on the stove but she was happy for me to stick ready meals in the microwave when I got home from school. I know many families who no longer sit down together at the table to eat as a family and I think this is sometimes part of the problem too.

Also, some kids are just not very concious of their health compared to others. When I was about 11 I remember kind of knowing that my diet was unhealthy compared to other kids at my school but it just didn't bother me. It's a bit like when a smoker knows what they are doing is very likely to give them cancer, but they still refuse to quit for various reasons. It seems hard for some people to equate smoking and bad diet with health problems if they do not have any experience of this happening that they can relate to.

I had a friend on the other hand (age 11) who was very concious of the effects of her diet, who ate very healthily and was very aware of the health implications of not eating the right foods. There are many reasons why some children will truly understand the health risks and behave accordingly but others won't. A lot comes down to the messages they get from their family and the rest of society and how well they internalise these messages into their way of seeing the world.

Another thing I feel worth mentioning here is food phobia, fear and anxiety felt about certain foods. Some kids are just fussy eaters, but others really do experience psychological distress when faced with the prospect of eating certain foods (I know cos I was one of them!). If fussy eating escalates into this, it becomes a serious problem, one that I think may be on the rise.

The levels of anxiety experienced by a food phobic will cause them to go to great lengths to avoid being faced with their fear. They also develop a physiological 'choking/wretching' response when they try to eat the foods they are phobic about, which in turn feeds their anxiety about the food so the whole thing goes on in a cycle that's hard to break out of. Forcing kids who have this response to healthy food to consume it just makes the problem worse, as their anxiety and distress will make them avoid the experience in the future as much as possible (they will also feed off the anxiety expressed by the forceful parent about their kid's diet).

I would suggest to any parent who is seriously worried about their child's 'fussy eating' to seek help from a doctor or psychiatrist who can help... obviously some kids are just a bit fussy, but if it escalates too much it can be a really hard problem to deal with in later life if the phobia becomes deeply ingrained in the psyche.

Sorry I've ranted on! I just think it's a growing problem that's worth considering in the debate about healthy eating.

Oh, the was aimed at Neon's last post, you guys are far too quick and got in before me!

Tea Fairy, some good points, and interesting to hear about your phobia (do you still have it, do you mind me asking?).

I'm not sure if it is seen as a bad thing by most people. I remember on my 9th birthday I really wanted to go to mcdonalds. I know (and I think I did at the time) that I wanted to go because I wanted to fit in - I had some friends with me who would eat there all the time and I never did - I wanted to feel like I was a part of that group: a very important thing for a 9 year old. I think I managed about half of whatever it was I ordered before giving up on it - it was horrid and I've not been in one since (ok, so I use the loos from time to time).

I know at the time I didn't think once about how good the food was for me - the social pressure and tempting smalls did it for me and at that point I stopped thinking.

I don't know how typical that is, it could just be me. I left school about 2 weeks after, and never looked back!

Good riddance to the ads- I hope they do extend it up to 9pm.

Targetting children with marketing designed to get them eating unhealthy and habit-forming 'food' is, IMO, wrong.

the ones that sicken me the most have almost always been mcdonalds, they've caused me to shout at the TV on many an occasion.

I think it's got to be a good thing. Kids are generally unable to make informed choices about their own nutrition, and they are so easily influenced, they'll believe anything (I'm a teacher, so I know ). I'll bet a lot of parents out there think that a large chunk of processed cheese flavoured fat in their kids' lunchbox is good for them - well it is "full of calcium for growing kids".

When I was about 6, my best friend told me that ketchup was "bad for you" because it was full of sugar and salt, for ages afterwards I refused to eat ketchup, even with McDonalds (where it was probably the most healthy part of the meal - apart from the gerkin maybe). With this in mind I can't feel at all comfortable with the ethics of telling kids that unhealthy foods are "cool" or putting a spin on the health benefits.

Sym, I do still kind of have a problem with food but I'm trying to deal with it at the moment... reconditioning my thought patterns after 22 years of unfounded anxiety is really hard work!

I've got to the point where I understand the problem enough to be able to spot my thoughts going into anxiety mode, I know it's a completely unfounded fear but I need to keep telling myself that. I've been trying 'progressive desensitisation', basically getting used to having the foods that trigger the anxiety around me, touching them, looking at them, smelling them, lifting them up and putting them near my mouth.

I'm at a point where I can voluntarily bring myself to chew and swallow some of them, but I still have trouble because my brain tries to tell me it's all very unpleasant and I still get the choking/wretching feeling sometimes, which really is the hardest bit to overcome. Apparently hypnotherapy can help this, but I'm short on cash at the moment so the self-help route is my only viable option at present.

Here is some more info on food phobia generally:

http://www.justbewell.com/eating_disorder_hypnotherapy_nlp_help_london.html

I just can't express enough how difficult it is to overcome this after so many years.