The first fact that should put us on alert is to know that the vast majority of products advertised on television or the Internet do not correspond to real foods., present in nature without prior processing or minimal treatment. Set yourself as an example: eggs, vegetables, dried fruits, fish, fruits,…At the end of the day these are the foods that provide us with nutrients for a correct diet. But how are they obtained from nature?, It is not worth it to the industry to inform about the benefits of these. They don't get any benefit from it..

The advertisements that often bombard our routine and that of our children are more like products invented by the industry and that are the result of the mixture of a long list of refined ingredients that undergo chemical processing and to which artificial substances are usually added as additives., flavor enhancers, thickeners, preservatives…
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They usually come wrapped in boxes., cans or bags that, in the case of products aimed at children, have an extra attractive color, messages, characters from movies or fashion series. Brands tend to take advantage of children's imagination to overvalue product features.. The child is too young to distinguish what is real from the unreal and brands take advantage of this in their advertising messages to create in the child his immediate need for consumption..

If we value the composition of products focused on children, We realize that a large number of them have a notable presence of saturated and trans fats., refined sugars and salt. This advertising is giving wings to the values ​​of childhood overweight and obesity, which currently reach more than 40% of the population according to the ALADINO study 2013, continue to grow.

I don't know up to what values ​​the relevant authorities will do something to reverse the trend once and for all.. But the group of food and beverage companies and brands will tell you a different story.. Because in the same ads that offer unnecessary products as if they were totally essential in your life, at the same time they are telling you that the problem of obesity is yours, due to your sedentary lifestyle and lack of moderation. According to them, Children can eat everything but in moderation and play sports, because the lack of activity in children is the most serious problem in this society.

Without downplaying the problem of sedentary lifestyle, I would like to tell you how a child's energy expenditure is broken down.. He 70% of expenditure corresponds to metabolism at rest, and 10% will be spent on the digestion of food itself and a 20% It will be the expense that comes from sports and physical activity. With these accounts I am not going to underestimate the importance of activity for increasing muscle mass and metabolic increase.. But this influence is much less than that of the consumption of products called fast food or those high in refined sugars.. Because moderation with these products is very difficult to achieve. Their mixtures are designed so that you want to repeat and the feeling of satiety is not enough to stop eating., the child's mind will say "eat one more piece", It’s delicious”. And when I finish eating, one or two hours playing in the park is not going to compensate for the energy boost and the subsequent “hook” on X product.

Finally, what makes me the most funny and angry, is that it is the industry itself, as a sign of concern for the problem and image washing at the same time, create the PAOS Code (http://www.fiab.es/es/zonadescargas/da/PAOS.pdf), a completely voluntary self-regulatory code of ethics. How does a self-imposed code of ethics that I use voluntarily work?? It just doesn't work.

There are still thousands of examples today in which brands do the complete opposite of what is stated in the Code. (http://www.gominolasdepetroleo.com/2015/07/no-dejes-que-la-publicidad-alimente-tus.html). Knowing that the sanctions that can be imposed on these large companies are “change” for their pockets, I reiterate what I wrote at the beginning of this article.:

“Be wary of advertising products aimed at children”, You will almost certainly be more likely to be right if you offer your child the opposite of what they see on television., Internet and other advertising spots aimed at helping the child grow more in width than length.