Ads of junk food on primetime TV for children must be banned

Junk Food is the culture of today, and people encourage it knowing that it is not a healthy practice. When ads of these products appear on the TV screen during ad breaks, they influence purchase decisions of the viewers. If Children are around, they also want to taste those attractive goodies, and the elders should not encourage them because it is the first step to obesity. One method to prevent it is to ensure that advertisement of such products are not aired in slots where most of the audience are kids.

Sky News reports that the advertisements usually promote sweets, apart from crisps and fast food which do more harm than good.

The Obesity Health Alliance OHA wants brands associated with junk food products to ban advertising their products during programs that are popular with children.

The magnitude of the problem

The OHA has studied the situation with experts of the University of Liverpool. They have examined various ads of junk food that were shown during the ad breaks and found that the viewership for most popular children programs ran into several thousands. It came as a shock when they discovered that one of these popular programs had nine ads of junk food in the half-hour episode.

It is but natural that the manufacturers would want to cash in on this prospective customer base. The study found that more than half of the food and drinks advertised were high in fat, sugar, and salt.

This is a matter of concern because foods of this nature lead to obesity, and the result would be a society burdened with be obese children which is not acceptable from the point of view of health.

What is junk food?

The simplest definition of junk food is that which has little or no food value. A few examples are fish and chips, pizza, burger, fried chicken, sausages, noodles, pasta etcetera.

These are tasty, attractive, easy to carry around, and can be consumed at ease even while on the move. Life today is on the fast track, and junk food is a solution for not only the children but, even for the grown-ups. They order it on their mobile phone, and the delivery boy brings the food into the drawing room. It is a convenient system for those who do not have time to cook.

In short, this modern day culture has spawned a whole range of business opportunities for some, and there is an obvious clash of interests. Obesity is a global problem, and it can be checked if the authorities take steps to regulate the display of junk food ads during primetime TV shows that target the children.