Tue Jan 1, 4:26 PM

LONDON (AFP) - Britain introduced a ban on advertising junk food to under-16s Tuesday, aimed at promoting healthy eating and countering growing child obesity.

The ban, which extends measures already in place for under-10s, will curb television adverts for food and drink products with high fat, salt and sugar content.

Specifically the new measures, agreed last year, will ban adverts for junk food and drink around all programmes of particular appeal to children under 16 years.

According to official data released in October half of all Britons will be obese in 25 years if current trends are not halted; furthermore, 86 percent of men will be overweight in 15 years and 70 percent of women in 20.

Some campaigners say the ban which came into force Monday does not go far enough, calling for a total ban on junk food ads after 9:00 pm.

“We need urgent action to help people, especially children, avoid the less healthy, less happy and, ultimately, shorter life that obesity leads to,” said Richard Watts of the Children’s Food Campaign.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched a new 100-million-pound (205-million-dollar, 145-million-euro) programme in October aiming to increase from two to five the number of hours of physical education in schools per week.

Some 2.3 million pounds has already been set aside in the last 10 years to increase the number of hours of sport in school.

Share This

Like what you see, please subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Have a Great Day!

For those of you who have been following my blog here you know I have been reporting on the battle to reform the media’s influence on childhood obesity. Today was the day that the joint commission of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human services sat down at a workshop to reveal a report on how the 57 programs studied by the Associated Press have been reformed.

To give you some background I started following this story back in April of this year when there was talk about the FCC needing to get involved in regulation of all advertising practices geared toward kids and junk food marketing. In May of this year there was some buzz on Capital Hill about limiting the amount of junk food advertising toward children. Ed Markey(D-Mass.) has been the one at the forefront in pushing the FCC to get involved.

According to a June 4th article the FTC says that there are 9% fewer ad’s-5,538 in 2004 down from 6,100 in 1977. To me,while this may seem to be a significant decrease to some we still have a long way to go. The Kaiser Family Foundation 2005 study released in March showed a number double of what the FTC study showed.

95% of todays current advertising is pitching fast foods and restaurants,high sugar-cereal,desserts,sweets,snacks,and sweetened drinks.

Going back to the Associated Press report they feel that of the 57 programs currently being funded that encourage healthy eating habits among young kids the $1 billion to fund these programs is being wasted.

The government task force report was due out this month,but now has been pushed back to September. Food industry lobbyists are the ones responsible for influencing the delay of the report.

Also it is worth mentioning that the task force which was initiated by our own state Senator Sam Brownback was not meant to be a finger pointing mechanism but rather a tool to join hands against the fight against childhood obesity.

Now with that being said I traditionally do not vote republican when I go to the polls. I come from a democratic household and thus vote democrat when I feel we have a candidate worth voting for. However, I have applauded Senator Brownback for taking the initiative to get a movement any kind of movement going in an effort to focus on prevention so that we don’t have to spend money into treatment of obesity down the road.

One thing too is that I fail to see why the junk food marketers tend to target a population that is such a vulnerable market? These are the formative years when a child’s mind is still learning and growing. We should be instilling in them healthy eating and living habits instead of habits that will create problems that we have to pick up the tab for until they turn 18 and can go find their own insurance and pay their own bills.

In Kansas their was a study done around the early part of this decade that found that the state was spending well over $300 million in obesity related expenses from the medicare/medicaid budget. That is money that could have been used to expand the food stamp program so that recipients could maybe get more. A family of two like myself and my son are actually allowed just over $200 a month, but we get $157 a month.

Ok so now I am rambling on a bit I tend to do that when I get on a subject I am passionate about. I did an extensive amount of research last semester into the state food stamp program for a project I had to do for a class and what I learned I could use for content on this blog for many many weeks and months to come.

Additional Source not linked to: Media Post Publications

Share This

Children With “Adult” Diabetes?

Here’s a scary result of the increase in childhood obesity: A new study confirms that it’s been accompanied by a spike in the number of children diagnosed with type 2 — or adult onset — diabetes around the globe. In fact, some 45 percent of teens with diabetes now have type 2. Unlike type 1, which is caused by an inherited disorder where the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin, in type 2 diabetes the body becomes desensitized to insulin. Both types are serious, chronic illnesses that dramatically increase the risk of other problems (like kidney failure or heart disease). So beware!

What can parents do to protect their children? Fight back against the two primary causes of type 2 diabetes — a sedentary lifestyle and excess weight! But don’t ever put your child on a diet by yourself. If you’re concerned about the risk of diabetes, the best place to start is with a visit to the doctor for professional advice!

Share This

Childhood fitness emphasized in local programs

Schools, YMCA promote activities to fight youth obesity

By: Glen Reese

Thursday, July 5, 2007 5:17 PM CDT

printable version e-mail this story View Comments on this Story

Childhood fitness has become a hot topic in the nation with recent studies reporting the widespread dilemma of youth obesity.

The Raytown School District and private entities in the Raytown area are taking the problem seriously.

Elementary schools have a district fitness program for students every third school day. Four areas are emphasized: upper body strength, flexibility, abdominal strength and cardiovascular endurance, which is promoted through a mile run.

“We stress various fitness activities,” Westridge Elementary School physical education teacher Michael Mitchell said. “We try to be creative. We have them playing team sports and low organizational games at the same time.”

A lot of the students are out of school for the summer. Sitting inside watching television or playing video games is OK — to a point, Mitchell said.

“There’s nothing wrong with video games,” Mitchell said. “But stay active with physical activities, too. Ride your bike, play with friends or get into a league. We want well-rounded students. We encourage them to read. We want them to work both their minds and their bodies. Don’t be one-dimensional.”

The Raytown YMCA has myriad programs to help kids stay active during the summer months.

“We have something for beginners and kids every night,” health and wellness director Chris Bessmer said. “That’s a passion for me. We take in everybody and make it as cheap as we possibly can.”

The YMCA offers lessons for the Latin dance Zumba and beginner step aerobics. The Family Fitness Challenge is held on most Monday nights featuring physical educational games, and a handout covering a different topic is distributed each week.

Sports World is new this year. Kids use weight balls and plastic noodles for cardiovascular exercises. The Teen and Tween program teaches youths and teenagers how to use the YMCA exercise equipment correctly.

Dance, Dance Revolutions is held in the arcade area with constantly moving dance steps shown on a screen using a PlayStation. A summer school physical education program is available for ages 5 to 15 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

A Kid-Power program will start in the fall with the goal of warding off childhood obesity. Challenge sheets will be handed out featuring topics such as nutrition, cardiovascular fitness and muscular fitness.

The YMCA has been working with KMBC-TV on a fitness challenge, coming up with creative ways to keep children active.

“We want to introduce kids to a healthy lifestyle and make it fun at the same time,” Bessmer said. “It’s all working out.”

Parental involvement is a big part of the solution.

“Parents need to be a so-called role model,” Bessmer said. “My parents didn’t work out, so I didn’t really get into fitness until I was in college. Parents have the No. 1 impact on their kids. They need the correct knowledge so that they can take it back home with them to pass on to the kids.”

Staff writer Glen Reese can be reached at 358-6397 or greese@npgco.com.

Share This

Share This

Share This

Share This