By Dr. Joseph Mercola
     with Rachael Droege

You walk through the grocery store, planning to buy only the few items on your list. You have just about made it down the first aisle when your young child begins to beg for junk food item #1, green catsup. You give in hoping it will make the rest of the trip easier, when just as you turn the corner your child begins begging for another junk food item, this time sugary cereal. Sound familiar?

Well, there’s a reason why your kids want just about every sugary, greasy, processed food that they can get their hands on. Since the day your child was exposed to the outside world, through TV, magazines, the radio--even school--they have been inundated with the persuasive messages of the junk food industry. According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, advertisements target children as young as 3 years old. As an adult it can be hard enough to resist these marketing ploys, but for a child to resist is almost unthinkable.

Junk food marketers spent an estimated $15 billion in 2002 on marketing aimed at children. They seek to push their low-nutrient foods into the heads of children so that they in turn pester their parents to buy the products. And their ploys appear to be working as one out of every four American children are now seriously overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

Of course, the ultimate decision of whether to purchase junk food is up to you, the parent, but becoming aware of some of the most obtrusive methods junk food marketers use can help you to protect your children from these unhealthy messages.

Athletes/Celebrities

You may have seen Pepsi’s Web site, which features pop-singer Beyonce and Cubs baseball player Sammy Sosa. Beyonce is quoted as saying "For me, to build a relationship with Pepsi is incredible," while the site says about Sosa, " For the past three seasons, Slammin’ Sammy has been powered by Pepsi."

This is just one example of a company using celebrities and athletes to promote a less-than-nutritious product. Pepsi is certainly not the only company to do so. Snickers brand candy bar has a TV commercial that takes place in the Chicago Bears locker room and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes cereal is touted as "The official cereal of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Many children see celebrities and athletes as role models and feel that the products they endorse are worthwhile. They listen to these messages because they like the messengers. Unfortunately, the underlying message to kids--aside from the more obvious "buy this product"--is that eating these products can make them a celebrity or athlete, or at least will make them look and perform like one. And even if that doesn’t happen, they still feel that the products are worthwhile since they’re popular among the people they look up to and respect.

Saturday Morning Commercials

Saturday morning cartoons are a tradition for many children. Not surprisingly, junk food marketers have claimed their space among the cartoons--90 percent of food commercials aired on Saturday morning kids' TV shows are for products of low nutritional value such as sugary cereals, candy and fast food.

As though placing the ads among children’s cartoons is not enough, many of the junk foods will even feature a cartoon character or cartoon theme as part of their packaging and promotional angle.

By the time you head to the grocery store that afternoon, your child’s mind will be thoroughly saturated with junk food items to persuade you to buy. Of course this is the time when you as the parent can be strong and only buy foods that you will feel good about your child eating.

School Vending Machines

You may send your child to school with a healthy lunch in hand, but your efforts may soon be sabotaged by junk food marketers where you least expect them--in your child’s school. Most school hallways are lined with vending machines that sell soft drinks and unhealthy snacks, and most school cafeterias serve any number of fast foods each day. It’s not uncommon for schools to make marketing deals with leading soft drink companies such as Coca-Cola from which they receive commissions--based on a percentage of sales at each school--and sometimes a lump-sum payment.

The revenues are used for various academic and after-school activities, but what activity could be worth devastating the students’ health, which is exactly what consuming all that soda and junk food is doing? Getting rid of vending machines in schools--or replacing their contents with pure water and healthy snacks--could make a big difference, as vending machines can increase the consumption of sweetened beverages by up to 50 or more cans of soda per student per year.

The Internet

More and more children have access to the Internet, which means that marketers have gained another avenue to market their products. Almost every major junk food, from snacks to candy to soft drinks, has its own promotional Web site. The sites typically cater to children and teenagers and are filled with interactive games featuring the product, giveaways, contests and other information about the product.

Kids are likely to be drawn in by the games and are subtly inundated with images of a particular junk food or junk food brand. Although they may think they are simply playing a game, the games typically have a junk-food theme that exposes them to nutritionally devoid products even during their time off.

Although you can’t realistically shelter your child from every advertisement out there, you can sit down with them and discuss the ads you do see. Explain to them that a business is selling the product and that they need to think about all aspects of the item (nutritional value, price, etc.) and not rely solely on the ad to make their decision. And, make sure that you are a good role model for you child. If you eat a lot of junk food, you’ll have a hard time convincing your child that they shouldn’t eat it.

The Real Dangers of Soda to You and Your Children

Schools Peddling Junk Food to Kids

U.S. Junk Food Intake Worsening

Junk Food Diet Gives One Youth Scurvy

School Lunch Programs Aren’t Making the Grade

U.S. Food Industry Comes Under Scrutiny