Lawsuit obesity issues at the kid level
Jan. 19th, 2006 09:10 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
collwenNickelodeon and Kellogg to be sued for promoting junk food to kids
I heard a little about this on the radio before getting into work. Basically, a consumer group and some parents are putting together a lawsuit against Nickelodeon and Kellogg to try to stop marketing junk food (and other low nutrition foods like sugary cereals) in venues (like Nickelodeon) where most of the audience are kids. Since they're filing in the lawsuit in Massachusetts, they have to notify the company 30 days in advance of filing.
While I understand that more kids are getting fat (speaking as someone who was one of the fat kids in school), I don' t think that a lawsuit is the best way to deal with it.
Parents have a responsibility to buy and serve healthy foods to their children and teach them about good nutrition. Parents also need to learn how to not to give into a child's demands for junk food, or if they do give in to limit the amount that the child has. Parents also need to encourage exercise, and lead by example in all healthy habits.
I also understand that it's hard to tell a kid no when they go to the store and see a box of super sugary cereal or Pop Tarts with Spongebob Squarepants on the front and it's their favorite show and they're begging for it.
But this food isn't illegal. Selling it to (or giving it to) kids is legal (unlike tobacco products and alcohol). And the junk food for kids market is there and strong and companies won't really change until the demand goes down (by parents not buying the product) and the demand for healthier kid-oriented food grows.
Pressuring them with a lawsuit is only going to encourage them to get creative in how they continue working the junk food for kids market and not solve the underlying issues..
I heard a little about this on the radio before getting into work. Basically, a consumer group and some parents are putting together a lawsuit against Nickelodeon and Kellogg to try to stop marketing junk food (and other low nutrition foods like sugary cereals) in venues (like Nickelodeon) where most of the audience are kids. Since they're filing in the lawsuit in Massachusetts, they have to notify the company 30 days in advance of filing.
While I understand that more kids are getting fat (speaking as someone who was one of the fat kids in school), I don' t think that a lawsuit is the best way to deal with it.
Parents have a responsibility to buy and serve healthy foods to their children and teach them about good nutrition. Parents also need to learn how to not to give into a child's demands for junk food, or if they do give in to limit the amount that the child has. Parents also need to encourage exercise, and lead by example in all healthy habits.
I also understand that it's hard to tell a kid no when they go to the store and see a box of super sugary cereal or Pop Tarts with Spongebob Squarepants on the front and it's their favorite show and they're begging for it.
But this food isn't illegal. Selling it to (or giving it to) kids is legal (unlike tobacco products and alcohol). And the junk food for kids market is there and strong and companies won't really change until the demand goes down (by parents not buying the product) and the demand for healthier kid-oriented food grows.
Pressuring them with a lawsuit is only going to encourage them to get creative in how they continue working the junk food for kids market and not solve the underlying issues..
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-19 03:43 pm (UTC)My folks had no problem telling us "No" when it came to junk food and sugary cereal beyond Frosted Flakes. Our breakfast foods consisted of Cherrios (regular - this was before they started introducing other flavors) or some type of egg (usually scrambled with lots of catsup) and milk with a small class of juice. There was never any junk food in the house - lots of fruit, but no junk food. I don't recall having soda in the house either. We usually drank milk or water. Sometimes we'd have juice with seltzer for a "fancy" drink. So they brought us up with a basic knowledge of "balanced meals." Unfortunately for me that didn't really stick once I was out of the house and doing my own shopping and cooking. But that wasn't my parents' fault. I'm the one making the poor food decisions. I'm getting better now, though. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-19 05:02 pm (UTC)I know that feeling- for example I got into college and found out what real butter tastes like on a regular basis instead of margarine type spreads. And then proceeded to use as much of it as I did margarine. And free refills of soda in the cafeteria (which is where I got my Mt. Dew addiction).
Now that I'm thinking more and more, some of the habits did come from my parents, but some are my own.
Pretty much, drink mixes, canned veggies, and not telling me to cut back on the margarine or the sugar on my previously unsweetened cereal were about the worst things they did for my early eating habits.
Now that I'm older and I'm on my own I've found that the real drinks (juices and fresh brewed ice tea and lemonade as opposed to mixes) taste a lot better. And with fresh veggies, you don't need as much butter/margarine because you're not masking the flavor anymore, but enhancing it and you don't need as much to do that. And I've been losing the taste for refined sugar over time (helped by actually watching how much I use).