Advertising and obesity

I absolutely believe that advertising plays a major role in the contribution to childhood and adulthood obesity. A large amount of advertisements for fast food restaurants and geared strongly towards children.  For example, the most notorious, McDonalds. The ever incising happy meal toys and play place make children wide eyed and crazy. I don't blame them, when I was a child I didn't care about what I was eating, as long as it didn't look too weird and of course I would eat it if it meant i got to open a toy after. Children and adults, even thought we know better, are pulled into the entire experience that fast food places advertise for us. They make it look fun and exciting and very "family oriented". Another factor is the price. Fast food is significantly cheaper then the healthier alternative. Some parents feel that they have no other option, when eating out costs less then buy vegetables from the grocery store.

Advertising is also a very useful tool in the prevention of obesity. Unfortunately I feel as though it is rare that those ads will be noticed or reacted to half as much as the ads in favour of fast foods. SLowly but surely I would like to think the advertisements promoting healthy living will become more prominent and more geared towards children, not just parents. Of course as consumers we play a large part in the success of the fast food world. Obviously we are taking the bait. It is up to us to choose the better option, to instil good values in our own lives and hopefully the people around us will follow. Parents have to realize that children need to be taught good habits now, so they can carry it on for the rest of their lives. At the end of the day you chose which ads will win you over.