February 17~ Advertising to children

Dr. Ameena Batada came to CCBC today and she talked about some of the effects of advertising on children. The thing that interested me the most was how the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is trying to get fast food restaurants to incorporate the amount of calories in the foods on the menus. She also mentioned how the fast food franchises tried to argue that it would confuse customers if they put the calorie amounts on the menus. Ironically, Subway has the calorie amounts displayed on their menus and there has not been a complaint or misunderstanding so far. Dr. Batada also mentioned that the CSPI is trying to get the healthier products of fast food places as a default meal. So for example, if you go to Mickey D’s and order a Happy Meal, but don’t specify if you want fries, they will ultimately give you the apple dippers. Also, the CSPI is trying to get the healthier products advertised more to children, so they can see the alternative to the popular items. Apparently, down in Disneyworld they advertise the healthier meal and in fine print they say, ‘fries and soda are available upon request.’ I believe over 70% of the families that ordered that meal did not substitute for fries and soda. So if we can make enough noise about this issue, we could potentially be on the right track of achieving some reform on advertising and obesity in America.
My final thought on the this issue is if we make the franchises display the calorie counts on their menus, then we some how need to get people informed on what calorie intake means. I can't help but to think about all those people who don't know how much calories they can assume in a day or why trans fat and saturated fat is so bad for you. Although these the steps that have been taken are leading us to a healthier nation, we may have to consider people's personal responsibilty. Is knowing how much calories your eating really going to get people to eat healthier? I do support the fact that people need to know calorie amounts just as much as they need to know the ingredients because we as a nation have that right to know; but I can't help but wonder if we are fighting another senseless battle. If people aren't informed about what is good and bad for them, then I feel that all this ruckus will be made for nothing.