1/3 of all toys sold in America are sold in fast food restaurants

One of the changes which the British government needs to work on when it comes to the fast food industry is the regulation of the promotion of their products. At Ukmedix News we believe that advertising which is directly targeted at children is wrong and should be completely banned. There is clear evidence that the promotion of fast food to young children over time can instill in them unhealthy eating habits which they find difficult to get rid of as they grow older and thus they lead a life of being overweight and obese.

One survey done in Australia by the Cancer Council shows that 91 percent of adults say that they are fed up of their children being been targeted by advertisers with the use of celebrities and cartoon characters such as Shrek.

Parents say that it is unfair to target children this way and that it makes their role of parenting and advising their children on healthy eating so much more difficult. Not only this but parents say that they are perceived to be uncaring and unkind when they don’t take their children to fast food restaurants when in fact they are doing the right thing.

A book written by Eric Clark called ‘The Real Toy Story’ reveals the alarming statistic that 1/3 of all toys sold in America are sold in fast food restaurants and that the fast food chain McDonald’s has become the largest distributor of toys in its 31,000 restaurants worldwide. If this isn’t clear evidence that children are being directly targeted by the fast food industry then we don’t know what is?

Children don’t know what is good for them and that is why advertising should not be directed at them because they are not able to make rational sensible decisions. The advertising industry should not be banned from promoting anything to children that could be harmful for them and the UK government needs to stand up and legislate.

For too long governments have ignored national obesity issues and is about time that they did something quickly before another generation of children are cursed with being overweight all their lives.