Kids and advertising battle heats up in US and UK

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 28 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Children under the age of 8 cannot differentiate between reality and TV ads, say experts.

A panel of the American Psychological Association assert that the under eights are not able to perceive that TV ads are not real.

The panel, which consisted of six people, examined as many studies on this matter they could get their hands on.

The typical American kid watches 40,000 TV adverts a year.

They say that the American and UK obesity problem is rooted to the fact that kids watch ads for sugary cereals, beg their parents for them, stuff their faces with them and get fat.

Parents are fighting against a $10 billion advertising campaign aimed at their kids. What chance do parents have at trying to get their kids to eat a balanced diet against that counterweight. The Kaiser Foundation, a US non-profit group (prestigious and well known) sympathises with parents.

Americans and Europeans are battling with advertisers. One half wants adverts aimed at kids banned, while the other half (guess who they are) don't. People who watch in the sidelines are beginning to take sides.

80% of the UK general public would like to see ads aimed at kids banned completely. They see the Swedish model as ideal - in Sweden ads directed at small kids are banned.

Basically, the British want them banned because they do not trust the advertisers any more.

The House of Commons (UK) have a committee called the Commons Health Committee. They summoned spokespeople from McDonald, Coca-Cola and Pepsico (and others). They were asked to answer the charge that they targeted children as customers of products which damaged their health.

This Committee was given the task of examining the possibilities of a ban on TV advertising of food and drinks targeted at children.

In America there are guidelines that limit the total number of advertisement that can be shown on kids' programs (programmes).

As mentioned earlier, in Sweden no ads aimed at kids under twelve are allowed. British and American parents look at the Swedes with envy.

As a parent myself, I resent the way advertisers place famous sports people promoting junk foods.

Written by Christian Nordqvist, Editor of Medical News Today.