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Health

06th Jul 2016

Children Heavily Influenced By Advertisements For Junk Food

HerFamily

Do you think advertisements for junk food should be subject to a 9pm watershed?

Almost three quarters of people in the UK do and it’s not surprising when you hear about studies like the one recently conducted by Cancer Research.

The organisation surveyed schoolchildren aged between eight and 12 in the UK and found that they associate junk food with feelings of happiness and are heavily influenced by the ads they see.

via GIPHY

Speaking about the findings, Dr Jyotsna Vohra, head of the Policy Research Centre for Cancer Prevention at Cancer Research UK, said:

“It’s worrying to hear that children associate junk food with having a better time and it’s clear from the discussions that advertising can influence how they eat.”

Childhood obesity is a growing problem around the world. One in four Irish children are overweight or obese.

This also makes them more likely to be overweight or obese as adults which can lead to a range of health problems and illnesses.