According to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American children see around 40,000 commercial ads on television a year, figures that do not differ much from other developed countries. Most of them are 'snacks', snacks or snacks high in calories and sugary cereals, which are unhealthy.
Various investigations have shown that these ads encourage children to ask for more junk food, something that can contribute to the fact that about one third of children in the United States are considered overweight or obese.
This is a rate that has tripled in the last three decades and is close to the data of other developed countries, even with worrying data such as that childhood obesity already affects babies.
With this panorama, it is not surprising that the United States proposes to suppress children's advertising of junk food, and in Spain there is some regulation in this regard. In our country there are also restrictions on the sale of industrial pastries and soft drinks in schools.
In Europe, extensive research, called “Evaluation of food and beverage marketing options for children”, carried out in eleven EU countries, measured the influence of food and beverage marketing on children's diet and He verified its importance.
For children to opt for healthy eating, many factors come into play, and food advertising is an important factor, with great influence on children's behaviors.
It is important that countries regulate the marketing of children's products and establish the restrictions and codes that regulate their sale, with penalties if manufacturers or advertisers violate the rules, although this is not usual in many countries, as we saw when talking about the map of the marketing policy of food for children in the world.
No doubt advertising is one of the elements that influence the feeding of our children, but remember that our example is the most important, and consolidate healthy eating and physical activity habits They will help keep obesity at bay and "counteract" the negative effects of this publicity.
