Obesity Is Not Marketers’ Fault

Dan Jaffe over at the ANA’s Regulatory Rumblings blog makes a concise argument, as we have before but with far fewer facts, that lays blame for obesity not on the action of marketers and advertisers b ut squarely on the shoulders of lazy-ass kids, their parents that let them sit on their ass all day long playing video games and schools which have drastically cut back on physical education.

We’ll say it again. No one force feeds kids. While there’s an over abundance of tempting, unhealthy food, McDonald’s and Burger King don’t inject food tubes into children to deliver their fatty, unhealthy crap. Kids shove it in their mouths themselves because they don’t know any better. They haven’t been properly educated to know what’s healthy and what isn’t. They haven’t run a few laps around the school track becasue they don’t have gym class anymore. They don’t have to go anywhere because the Internet brings it all to them. And, their parents have let them spend hours in front of screens rather than going outside and engaging in physical activity.

Yes, Dan makes a far better argument. We just think kids need to get off their asses and everyone has to do a better job telling what to eat and what not to eat. Oh, and those ridiculously huge portion sizes at restaurants, one of which could feed an entire family? Yea, they could cut those in half, make twice the money and everyone would be healthier for it.

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

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