The president of the Professional Association of Children and Youth Physicians, Thomas Fischbach, calls for the ban on advertising sweets such as milk slices and children's chocolate. "We need a ban on advertising so-called children's food, which actually does not exist," Fischbach told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung". Sugar bombs are anything but child-friendly.
Food companies would use "dinosaur pictures or bright boys and girls" on the packaging to give the impression that there are extra foods for children, "as if milk slices or children's chocolate were healthy and a useful part of the food catalog," said Fischbach. "This is irresponsible and must be stopped."
Taste preferences are shaped in childhood
The consequences of rampant obesity even the little ones have "dramatic" consequences, from the suffering of those affected to the cost of the health system, Fischbach said. "Intervention is all the more important, as taste preferences are shaped at an early age."
In October, a study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) published that more than 15 percent of children between the ages of 3 and 17 in Germany are overweight or even obese (Read here how to prevent your child from getting too fat) ,
The federal government's strategy for reduced-sugar and reduced-fat prescriptions in finished products is "far too weak," said Fischbach. "The result of political despondency is more and more obese and sick young and older people."
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Fischbach warned in the "New Osnabrücker Zeitung" also "catastrophic consequences" of intensive media use by minors. "We are watching with horror that the children hanging in front of the smartphone or tablet are getting younger and younger."
Even the youngest would be conditioned to permanent overstimulation, Fischbach said. As a result, children would increasingly suffer from lack of concentration. Basically, "no cell phone eleven years ago" and then no more than two hours of use per day.
