9 out of 10 ads do not respect the regulations to prevent obesity
The fight against childhood overweight is not only developed at home. The commitment to a healthy and balanced diet is also incumbent on other public figures, such as political powers or media. The latter play a very important role in feeding the youngest of the house through the advertising they broadcast.
Fast food spots can generate a desire in children that alters their diet and makes them more predisposed to obesity. For this reason, there is an ethical code that aims to set standards for action in terms of advertising it means. However, it seems that few ads issued in Spain respect these recommendations as explained from the study that has been published in the journal Public Health.
Increase in infractions
Since 2005 the Code of Self-Regulation of Food Advertising Directed to Minors, PAOS, has been operating in Spain. This regulation is a commitment to which different food companies can adhere who are encouraged not to encourage the voluntary purchase of unhealthy products or to 'lie' about the real nutritional values of these items.
Already in 2008 it was found that a large number of advertisers they did not meet these requirements. 42% of them did not meet these standards and issued advertising contrary to the PAOS. Now, the latest data from this research shows that this percentage has surprisingly increased to 96%.
These numbers were obtained after analyzing the announcements broadcast on three channels, with children's target, which they broadcast in Spain. A total of 2,582 spots televisions were taken into account for this work. The results showed that 64% of this material was from beverages and foods with high levels of salt, sugar or fats. A great breach of the PAOS that increases the possibility that children are obese by encouraging them to consume these items so unhealthy.
But the presence of these articles in the spots is not the only thing that violates the PAOS norm. Many of these ads also feature the presence of famous people, whether real or fictional, and who invite children to buy these products. That is, minors are need to consume the same article as those who follow.
Teach to watch television
Given this scenario it is clear that parents must feed the critical feeling in children when facing television content. Here are some tips to help children when it comes to watching TV:
1. Watch television together. Sharing a while to watch TV, as well as being a good way to spend time together, will be the most accurate way to educate your child about advertising. The solution is not therefore to censor the television content but to be by his side when he watches television and comment together those aspects that concern him or that he does not understand what he is seeing. In short, a perfect time to educate.
2. Know your child's playful interests. Each child is different and each of them has different needs. Therefore, it is necessary that you know the playful interests of your child, that information will be fundamental to choose among all requests for toys that best suit your needs. Thus, you will be able to help your child to choose the toy that best suits him and to reorient his requests in the event that the chosen toy is not appropriate.
3. Teach him to choose. There are many toy ads, however, a child can not have them all. Although when watching a toy on television the first impulse will be to pronounce the famous phrase of I'm asking! the important thing resides just in the next minute. It will be time to remind him of the dangers of unbridled consumerism and teach him to accept that you can not have everything.
Damián Montero
