Do your children refuse to eat vegetables? Maybe it’s the TV.

We all appreciate that break we get when our kids are captivated by the television. However, two new studies out of the U. of Illinois have found that 80% of the ads imbedded in these programs are for candy, sweets, soft drinks, & convenience foods.

In a one-hour program children are exposed to 10 ads. That means that the average child is being enticed 11,000 times/year. Marketers also know that the more often a child is exposed to an ad, it increases the “nag factor.” The study found that due to this exposure kids are more likely to nag there parents up to 50 times to get what they want. The majority of these ads depict snack foods, not meals. These foods are low in nutrients and high in sugars like high-fructose corn syrup, sodium, and damaged fats like hydrogenated oils. The second study also found that the children acting in these ads are all of normal weight, which portrays the image that children can eat as much of this food as they want and not become overweight.

With busy schedules, there is no way a parent can compete with the television. The television is teaching our children what they should eat. We should be the ones teaching them but we can’t compete with 10 ads an hour. This makes our jobs even harder when trying to entice our little ones to eat a meal since the television tells them to eat snacks.

Here are a few ideas to help you in tapering down your children’s exposure to these ads and preventing the “nag factor” from disrupting your life.

1. Buy cartoon or better yet, educational videos on topics that your kids enjoy.
2. Allow them to watch a little KCET or other public television stations since their commercials are limited.
3. Save some money and switch to Basic Cable. It’s only $15.00 a month and you could use that extra money for videos or toward a family vacation.
4. If you get complaints about the alternative then refuse to let them watch television.
5. Shop at stores like Trader Joe’s, where there are no cartoon characters depicted on the labels, to prevent the grocery store tantrums.

Like any change it will be a challenge for a few weeks but will become accepted with time. If your children are old enough, explain to them that these foods do not provide a good foundation for a healthy mind and body and that these commercials teach us to want them.

If your interested in hearing the report on these studies you can listen to it at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4818154. Please send questions or comments to regina@desertwomenshealth.com

Written by Regina Basterrechea, MS