How to protect the little ones from insane advertising
Junk food is along with sedentary lifestyle one of the causes of the expansion of cases of obesity and overweight As much as children are warned about the dangers of these menus, television is responsible for making it attractive and selling these foods as something fun that will appeal more.
For this reason, parents should know how to combat advertising that children watch and that make junk food a very attractive product. Know how to teach the little ones to make a correct judgment about what they should eat and what not because in the long run it will generate health problems.
Food advertising in Spain
In Spain there are two ethical codes that make the food industry self-regulate to prevent junk food and other products harmful to health take advantage of the innocence of children to increase their sales:
- PAOS code. Self-regulation system that affects the advertising of food and beverages aimed at children under 12 and 15 if advertising comes from the internet. However, as explained by the Organization of Consumers and Users, OCU, who adhere to this code "do not talk about nutritional quality of the advertised product nor the frequency of its emission".
- HAVISA Plan. Code that tries to include in TV advertising a different healthy message every month that encourages you to move more and have a varied and balanced diet.
Stop the effect of this advertising
This publicity has a great effect on the children due to his poor judgment capacity. For this reason it is important that parents know how to act to prevent junk food from becoming a wish for the little ones. First of all, what is recommended is to maintain a climate of communication with all the members of the house. This will make it easier for debates to become normal at home.
Parents should normalize the presence of vegetables and fruits at home from a very young age There is nothing better than letting the children participate in the kitchen as much as possible so that they get used to them. It is also important to emphasize the good taste of these foods since children often think of junk food as only tasty and other products as something unpleasant on the palate.
Nor should we see junk food as a reward, as a reward for effort. Many parents reserve these products for special occasions as good grades. You have to make children see that no matter how good it is, it is better not to abuse it since in the end it can have important consequences.
Damián Montero
