The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has been calling on the food manufacturers, specifying them the need to adopt a voluntary code of conduct on advertising being aimed at children as an important step in the fight against obesity. The commission said in a report to the European Parliament that it would evaluate and judge the measures taken in 2010 and if necessary, they would be changed then.
According to the World Health Organization, alone in Europe, almost one in three children under 11 years and one in five adolescents is overweight. WHO terms childhood obesity as “an acute health crisis.” This also increases people with diabetes and also heart and kidney problems. Childhood obesity can even lead to blindness. As per as the experts, the advertisements lead children to eat poorly. Thus, the advertisements need to have a check on them. A British study done in April, whose conclusion supported the findings of U.S. Institute of Medicine, reported that overweight and obese children ate about twice as much after watching ads for food.
After the reports, Britain has already banned ads for foods high in fat, salt and sugar at some specific times, which near the programmes for children. Ireland has also imposed a similar ban, whereas France banned vending machines selling soft drinks and chocolates from schools in 2005. Diets based on fatty and sweet ingredients and lack of physical activity accounts for six of the seven top factors leading to poor health and increasing obesity.
Source: IHT
