Posts Tagged ‘food choices’

A PSA from the US AdCouncil features the cast of Shrek the Third – Fiona, Donkey, Puss and the gang – encouraging kids in english and spanish to “Get up and play an hour a day!”

As cute as it is, this PSA has been criticized widely by researchers, parents and journalists, and it’s easy to see why (see two articles by Weighty Matters blogger here and here). Just search for this PSA on youtube and the very next clip is the McDonalds Shrek the Third commercial. Since Shrek and co. are used to promote health and activity by the US Department of Health and Human Services AND by McDonalds to promote consumption of themed menu choices like chicken mcnuggets, apples with caramel dip and minty mud mcflurries, the concern is obvious: what if kids don’t distinguish between Shrek’s message of healthy activity and his promotion of (mostly) bad food choices?

This is why some lawmakers in the USA are trying to take away the ability for fast food restaurants to sell child-targeted meals with a toy if they contain an unhealthy amount of fat or calories (see this New York Times article). County supervisors in San Francisco have already succeeded. Put differently, if these laws passed, restaurants in those areas wouldn’t be able to sell Happy Meals with a toy, if the meals the toy came with were unhealthy for children. In the recent mid-term elections, these laws did not pass, however their popularity is increasing. Don’t be surprised if you start hearing about that coming up in your neighbourhood too.

So what do you think? What can we do to prevent children’s products from being used to promote unhealthy choices? Do you think it’s important?

Further Reading:

• SCOPE’s 5-2-1-0 Fact Sheet
• Canada’s Physical Activity Guide for Kids (and teens)
• Canada’s Food Guide
• US Department of Health and Human Services Small Steps for Kids