Can Disney Fight Obesity by Banning Junk Food Ads?

Sounded like a true business woman:)

Bravo! Of course they can FIGHT obesity by banning junk food ads. The EFFECTIVENESS of their decision, however, remains to be seen.

There's nothing corporations can do that will prevent widespread obesity since it's already taking place. It's simply too late for that. If a child is obese or close to it, prohibiting the ads for junk food isn't going to prevent parents from seeing the products in stores.
But really, did the prohibition prevent people from drinking? No. Did outlawing marijuana prevent its fairly widespread use? No.
Let's look at this from a different perspective. Kids who watch those stations probably aren't old enough to buy their own food anyhow. Their parents are, and poor parenting is the reason child obesity is a problem in the first place. Simple as that.

and with widespread unlimited access to their favorite intoxications anyway, new junk foods aren't even necessary/ why prevent new junk? conquer the crap we already have

This isn't prohibition but rather a company saying we won't take your money any more for advertising an unhealthy item.
And why do commercials zero in on children during Christmas? The manufactures know the kids will badger the parent(s) until they break down and buy the product. Same goes for junk food. I guess you never had a child of your own screaming on the floor at the grocery for something advertised on TV.

And you are saying that if the something you begged for came from advertising you had seen, that your mother would not have been spared the pleading without the advertisement? It's hard enough being a parent without being the bad guy all the time.

One of our three daughters wanted to be a cheerleader in grade school. I said OK but you won't do it in high school because they do routines that are not suitable for teens. The local high school cheering squad looked more like a Vegas show than teens cheering for ballplayers.

Parents are responsible in the end and my wife and I have been. Saying no is easier when there is nothing to say no too.

No. I'm saying that if I saw something on TV that I wanted, I might have begged my mother for it. No matter what I did, she'd say no. There was no such thing as her breaking down and buying something because I begged. Sure, I never threw a full-on fit, but what she initially said went. That's what I'm saying.

We are in total agreement. Now, if the companies selling good food will start advertising on Disney we might see some improvement. It wouldn't hurt for those teen stars on the kid's shows to endorse fruits and veggies.

Right on, my twin brother and I were raised on a low income budget and we got Beans corn bread, peanut butter and milk and that's how it was in 1952, the kids are spoiled today and the parents are weak and dumb. I will say our government has help weaken the roll of the parents so some blame goes to them.

The kid is stuffing its face with this garbage because the parent buys it for them. Maybe parents should be required to pass a parent class before having children.

but I think it is great that they are being proactive!

a fight doesn't necessarily mean a win.

I REALLY THINK THE NEXT YOUNGEST GENERATION WILL CHANGE IT'S EATING HABITS, ....ESPECIALLY WHEN MOM, DAD, AUNTS, UNCLES AND GRANDPARENTS DIE AT EARLIER AGES DUE TO BAD EATING HABITS.

not all together, but its an admirable step in the right direction.

It is up to the parents the Gov and big Buss should stay out of it.

Just because they banned the ads doesn't mean that the children still won't see the ads...
its up to the parents to put a stop to the children eating junk food.

That would be the parents job.

Commercials aren't the problem, the parents are. Fast food is more convenient, and throwing a bag of chips to your kid is easier than cooking a family meal. Kids learn their eating habits from their parents, and usually it sticks with them for life. Banning commercials isn't going to do anything, the commercials aren't the ones feeding the kids, they aren't cooking the meals, and they aren't monitoring what the kids eat.

nobody pays attention to the commercials anyways..

well idk but they can show they are against unhealthy eating habits and not show suggestive ads to children

I always thought it was hypocritical the way they kept nagging you on their shows and then ran ads for fast food.

No, because fat parents will most likely raise fat kids. Banning ads will not solve the problem.

So you don't think its possible for a cycle to be broken? Like how children from alcoholic, welfare-dependent, drug abuser, no-college-or-high-school-gra... or fat children can break the cycle?

How would stopping the commercials stop a cycle? The parents are the ones feeding their kids. The kids don't know anything about nutrition and healthy food until they are at least in junior high/middle school. And even then they aren't able to buy their own food, the parents do.

Huh, good point. Minors have more control over the other things. *Nod, nod.
But my initial point was: can cycles be stopped at all (with or without commercials)

Make the little FAT kids walk to a bus stop and end the buses stopping at the end of their driveways. Take away the video games and cell phones and make the little fat bastards mow the lawn.

Way to go Disney UK,and hope it happens in other countries as well.It is a responsibility of media entertainment companies to have a moral commitment to healthy eating and ban advertisers that sell junk food.I applaud them fully for their efforts in fighting obesity in children.

It still doesn't hit the network of children growing up with strictly nickelodeon but every little bit can help. Disney can't take on the obesity epidemic alone but this is a great start

yes and no

Healthy living should be promoted. No drama please.

It all falls on the parents in the end. I think the most it will do is get some children to stop annoying their parents about the food, but that can easily be squashed when the parents have to take their kids to the store.

Personally, my only complaint is this doesn't take effect until 2015. I hope they start eliminating advertisers sooner than that!

I know, right?

It's up the individual and the parents.

Did alcohol prohibition stop people from going to the Mafia dealers and getting their booze? Did it stop people from making, selling and consuming moonshine? Or perhaps I should use a more modern example, so here it is... is Cannabis prohibition that is still ongoing (1937 to present) keeping people from seeking out and finding and getting dealt their Cannabis from the Mexican Drug Cartels? Does having the legal drinking age set at 21 years of age keep those not yet 21 from drinking? Does having the legal age for nicotine products set at 18 keep minors from smoking? Does capital punishment/life imprisonment keep murderers from murdering? Does the risk of arrest and fines keep everyone from doing anything illegal? I could go on and on but I'll stop there.

The answer to all of the above, is overwhelmingly no. Disney's attempt will fail too.Bans and prohibitions on anything simply do not work, and more often just makes the situation far worse than it otherwise would be.

Nice outlay of history!

Thank you.

Healthy food is way too expensive for families to eat on a daily basis. Companies slap the word organic on their products and triple the price. Once they make healthy food affordable then America can legitimately for obesity.

"Healthy food is way too expensive for families to eat on a daily basis"

I hear this repeated quite often, and am always bewildered when I do. Healthy food isn't expensive at all. I and my family are able to eat healthy food virtually every meal of every day for much cheaper than eating out. It doesn't have to be organic, or come from a specialty store to be healthy. Plant a garden, or a few potted fruit or vegetable plants. Grab a Costco pack of skinless chicken breasts or other lean meats and fish and freeze what you won't use immediately.