The Children's Food Campaign has complained to the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about Burger King's new advertisements for their Double Whopper.

Richard Watts, Coordinator of Sustain's Children's Food Campaign said: "One in three children is now obese or overweight. Given this epidemic of childhood obesity, the last thing the country (UK) needs is for teenagers to be told it is 'manly' for them to eat these unhealthy burgers. Burger King's response to the obesity crisis seems to be to bury its head in the sand, and continue to produce larger and larger burgers.

He continued: "This kind of advert shows the food industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself. If the Government is serious about defusing the health timebomb of obesity, they need to end TV adverts for this kind of product before the 9pm watershed."

An adult male would have to walk about 9 miles (15 kilometres) to burn-off the energy supplied by a Double Whopper.

Is an advertising embargo the answer to childhood obesity?

And is it manly to wield a Whopper?

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Absolutely!
Plus they have something like 15grams of salt in them - over double the recommended daily level for a man and 3 times that for a woman - I can feel my kidneys cringeing at the thought of it.

As basic and sensationalist as it was that "film Supersize me" by wots his face really brought things home to me about just how damaging this type of food was. I was already against eating at fast food joints on the basis of moral principle but had not really understood until then just how damaging it was to a persons health (mental and physical). Boy do I wish I could go back 15 years and know what I know.

S

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Am I the only person in the world who thinks Morgan Spurlock is 'one nugget short of a happy meal'?

Even the most hydrogenated chav could have told him a constant diet of fast food would do him no good.

Sorry, I wasn't impressed - what next? Smoking 500 fags a day? Or did he already do that one?

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The food industry like any other revolves around the need to create a 'customer '...and theres no better customer than 'an addict'

If addiction didnt exist ..it would have to be invented ....for you to come back and buy again in a way that is more to the industries benefit than yours ...then you have to be turned into an addict.

This has been the story with cigarettes with nicotin .......caffeine with coke.....
burgers with monosodium glutamate.... not to say anything of the allergy /addiction cycle due to preservatives and additives.

Im not suprised to see them make this move.... they ve made their overtures to 'healthy food'....but theres not as much profit if the food is fresh (more wastage)nor does someone with a balanced diet come back as often.

Their allie in this backlash of 'the male whopper'.....is the continued levels of 'sustained' addiction that the public still has ...what with all the other crap.Its like a rallying of the troops ....... an appeal to the faithful.

Jamie Oliver has come up against this with the schools....burgers and chips through the playground bars.

The government will have to get on one side or the other.......and really theres only one way to go.

For me its all about neccessity in the end .......and dead at forty is not an option

............and the taxman wont like it either!


John ..... mince, chips and gravy.... .......no veg thanks!

Last edited: 10-11-2006 12:16:47 AM

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Most interesting is the fact that most food manufacturers are putting MSG in their processed foods, in packets and cans. They are calling it all sorts of different names but its still MSG, which enhances the flavour of the food, and can create an addiction. Stick with REAL food, that is fresh and organic and you can't go wrong.

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Naughty boys Hey!.....what sort of names should we look out for Jon?

John

Ps Whats your thoughts on aluminium in stuff.?........loads of different names there.

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The short answer to this question is yes.

But is should not be limited to before 9pm

It should be a permanent thing

yet it would take a truly enlightened government [elected by a truly enlightened populace] to enact such legislation

the problem of basic economics is still one of supply and demand

perhaps it's time we started openly criticising people for their eating choices

after all, the cost of poor nutrition far outweighs individual impacts

it has a global impact through increased medical costs and the opportunity cost of such funds not being available for education and foreign aid.

cameron

Last edited: 18-01-2007 01:55:00 AM

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There are other factors which would undermine such government regulation. The marketing executives at these companies are experts at targeting children. One of their strategies is to simply create brand loyalty. So, what McDonald's would do, for example, would be to show a commercial of kids playing on their special playgrounds and sing a song about how much fun it is to go to McDonalds. See... McDonald's = fun! They wouldn't even have to mention food. This is assuming the government enacts some regulation.

My solution is to ban all commercials (if not TV itself). If you watch TV, record everything, and then fast-forward through all the commercials. That trick will also cut your TV time by 25% (at least in the US). You don't need to wait for the government to fix things, which I do not see happening anytime soon anyway.

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John, there are so many names for MSG, I can't remember, however, if you google MSG you will find them. Aluminium, is great stuff if you want brain function impairment. My suggestion is to eat organic and plenty raw. Stay away from cardboard, plastic and tin.

Last edited: 19-01-2007 07:01:03 PM

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Remarkably, our government has just passed legislation prohibiting 'junk food' companies from targetting their advertising towards children

there is cause for McHope

cameron

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