Banning junk food ads targeted at kids is a concern that will be addressed at an up-coming forum by the United Nations General Assembly when they meet in September. Studies have shown that pre-mature death from diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease and cardiovascular disease are linked to poor nutrition; translation – kids consuming ‘junk’ food at an alarming rate with low or no nutritional value.
In a society where in large part both parents work, the family dinner is a rarity these days. Read Carmen Juri’s article for The Star Ledger ‘Family dinners help nourish relationships’ where she writes; ‘Families who eat together are more likely to choose fruits and vegetables, though having a family meal affects more than nutrition, researchers say’’. I agree, between running in the door from work, only to turn around and run right back out the door to take ‘Johnny’ to karate and ‘Susie’ to ballet class, there is little time to prepare, no less sit down with family, for a well-rounded dinner. I know, I plead guilty myself.
So where do we go from here? Rachael Ray has a new series on the food network where she cooks up a week of nutritious family friendly meals (I have watched this but haven’t tried it). Actually, I have a girlfriend whom I envy, she does spend her Saturday cooking and preparing meals for the upcoming week or more. She freezes her dishes and when she walks in the door, all she has to do is pop it in the oven or microwave. While dinner is heating up she also puts out raw veggies for the kids to snack on. That is what I call planning and discipline.
So it can be done. Why don’t we do all do it then? I don’t know if banning and limiting junk food ads alone will help our nation to raise healthier children, I think the other half of the battle belongs to the parents in charge of their meals.