Need your opinions about Change4Life ads aimed at parents

[GeraldineMumsnet]

Sunday Telegraph would like to know our thoughts, particularly about the ad that's been running in women's mags of a girl biting into a cupcake with the strapline "is a premature death so tempting?".

Effective? Unnecessary scaremongering? TIA for any comments.

I think it is totally ineffective, in the same way pictures of diseased lungs on cigarette packs is ineffective.

People know these things are bad for them. But there is also such a thing as quality of life. Granted, smoking, to me, has nothing to do with quality of life. But to a smoker? It sure does. When I was a smoker? It sure did.

As for eating sweets? Definitely all about quality of life.

The government needs to stop trying to change human nature. And survival of the fittest.

its totally ineffective IMHO.

people know the risks involved with over eating and obesity but in the real world it makes little difference to the buyng habbits of someone who can only afford shite.

i can go to Asda and buy a bag of nuggets for 50p and bag of chips for 50p and a tin of beans for 20p. so for less than £1.50 i can feed 3/4 kids.

If your a single mum on benefits you get what you can afford and make the most of it.

they need to spend less on colourfull posters and more on subsidising healthy food or forced increases to the price of junk.

make junk the more expensive "treat" option rather than the cheaper daily alternative.

Coming at it from the perspective of someone who's had problems with food over the years, I don't think it's very clever.

a) on the scale of it (vs a mars bar, chips, crisps etc) a cupcake is not that bad, is it.

b) secondly - and more importantly - I think it creates a very unhealthy attitude to food. Isn't there research which shows that when foods are 'banned' in childhood, people tend to binge on them in later life, whereas where people are taught to eat them in moderation, they continue to eat reasonably as adults. It's taken me years of my life to learn that, and I'm still not there yet.

c) It all depends on the cupcake. If it's home-made, I'd rather my dd ate that than any of the additive-ridden rubbish that the supermarket sells. There seems to be an increasing opinion that it is some of the additives and ingredients - palm oil etc - that are key in obesity. You only need to look at the recent changes in opinion on butter (now better than margarine) and eggs to see that we don't yet have all the answers on nutrition.

So yes, I think it's daft. And I think - given the earlier onset of worried about bodyimage etc in girls - that it's particularly daft given that it's a girl. Why not a boy?

A normal weight kid eating something sweet - bit of a rubbish ad imo.

Terrible! The Change4Life ads are rubbish, a total waste of taxpayers money! The ads need to promote healthy eating - treats are still OK in moderation. On the flip side, young girls have enough problems with eating disorders so this is a v bad example.

I think just 'telling' people with these sort of ads is ineffective and a waste of money.
We should plough the money into early stages:

• educating children and parents about healthy living & eating and about balanced diets, home cooking etc.
• helping young children develop self-respect for their bodies and health, so that they aspire to be healthy later in life

Let's face it - neither of the two kids portrayed in these ads is particularly unhealthy-looking?

I think they're too simplistic - and the people they're targeted at are too ignorant/ will not be reached via the media channels being used...

Oh, and the other issue which needs to be addressed is the 'don't care - whose business is it anyway what I eat/ size 16 isn't fat/ I'll feed my kids chips if I want to - it's not doing them any harm, yada yada yada.....'
(And I'm sure we'll now hear lots of this on this thread in response )

Awful scaremongering, it absolutely infuriates me. Why can't the money for these ads get spent on laying on fun sporty/dance/outdoor pursuits-type stuff for families at weekends to encourage us to get active? Or free cookery classes where kids can join in and find out about fresh ingredients? Or mobile fruit and veg vans with a subsidy going round housing estates? I could literally think of two dozen other initiatives that would actually come at this whole issue from a far more positive point of view instead of this wicked finger-wagging.

I hate the thing. It is scaremongering IMO. We did recently reveived the "How are the kids "questionnaire through the post, and I decided to fill it. It only takes into consideration the day you feel it in, not usual average diet your children atre having. The day I filled mine was on my birthday so we all had some cake and wnt out for a curry. I think it must make me something on the line of "irresponsable child murder attempting" parent. I decided to not post the thing back to actually know because a day is really not very often an accurate picture of what really is happening is it?

I am getting very ennoyed at all the "you are ruining your childs life" remarques you get if you so much as dare giving your DCs a biscuit.

I have got a couple of friends I only see on special occasions ( religious festivals birthaday...) and they EVERY time tell me I should not give cakes to the DCs blah blah blah and I can see them cringe at the sight of them actually enjoying the slice of cake.

Now I am all for healthy diet, I give Dcs a packed lunch that contains everything they need according to the "food pyramid" thing, they eat more than 5 fruit/veg a day, they walk top school every day and do practice sports outside school + they rides bikes arround the house whenever they get a chance, all meals eaten at home are home made from scratch. I am very tired of having to justifie myself to people when I decide every now and then to give them something a bit less healthy maybe but that will NOT kill them!

Sorry, hijack over!

Mamazon - I beg to differ it is possible to cook healthy food on a single parent benefit income.

I think the problem lie in education - not in the "education" of this ad - which is telling people what they already know. But actually showing people how to cook healthy meals on a very tight budget.

oh and if you can make 1 tin of beans go between 3/4 children I well impressed

I think cookery classes and free sports/dance lessons are the way forward.

and at my appalling typing in my last post

I don't deny that you can FAQ, i do it every day [smug]

but it is by far the easiest option. and when you have 16 year old parents who have never cooked so much as cornflakes what is the more likely evening meal? fish fingers and chips or a spag bol?

education education education

haha - ok fair enough we're singing from the same hymn sheet then

I agree with you education (can't bear to say it 3 times over ) is the way to go. Not "you should be cooking from scratch" type things. but actually teaching them (in practical classes) of how to make healthy food on a a budget.

Ok they may still be buying green and white, red, white and blue, or yellow and white stuff - but hopefully the healthy stuff (pasta, tinned tomatoes, onions,).

They need to be shown that yes the ingredients for that meal may look like they're costing you £4 (or whatever), but you're not going to use them all in one go so will have stuff left over to make more meals so it works out cheaper.

I think too many see the example that you gave (nuggets, chips, beans £1.50 - cheap but all gone in one meal) but don't see the whole bigger picture of buying food

It made sense to me FAQ!

But I am someone who buys in bulk when she can and loves the size of the freezer in this flat!! I mean, £6 of chicken breasts is dinner for DH and I for about 3 - 4 nights (depending on what I am making, obviously) so its about £2 per meal! Not that much more than the £1.50 for the nuggets chips and beans.

@ that cupcake ad! How to give a kid food complexes! It may be aimed at adults, but those who need the help and listen will take it too far, and those who don't need it are just by it.

I like the portion size advert though because I do know people who it has made stop and think.

DD has been brainwashed with healthy eating, and no advice on all in moderation. Daddy gave her sugar on her cereal and she got very upset about dying as it wasn't healthy . Now, having being against sugar on cereal (despite growing up with it) I have found myself advocating it as she has very little sugar the rest of the time and I think she needs to learn that a little is ok.

just watched it again - and the one of the kid playing on the PS2 (or whatever) god I wish my kids sat that still when they were on the Wii (or in the past PS2 - they jump around all over the place and it drives me MAD)

I agree with other posters that it is counterproductive to demonise "unhealthy" snacks. It is absolutely fine to eat a small cake from time to time! Especially if the cake is homemade or from a good bakery and fresh and made with eggs/sugar/butter/flour and no additives.

Thanks v much everybody

I am not sure if you are closing the thread Geraldine but I just wanted to add my voice to the others, demonising snacks like these is just pushing the poor body image thing. My children have a varied and healthy diet but I have had to explain to them that a person needs fat to survive along with sugar and various other stuff that is being pushed as "bad" thanks to the education being pushed at school and adverts like these.

Why on earth is the advertising (which is pointless at best IMHO) not being used to get across the idea that fast food (eg the big 'M') is unhealthy or that all of these things should be taken in moderation?

As for the wording I do not want my children being led to believe that they will die if they eat a cupcake or play a computer game. It is beyond scaremongering, it is tantermount to sticking childrens heads down the toilet!

My children do more than the recommended 60 minutes a day excercise (actually more than double that during the week). When they are not doing their sports clubs or walking to/from school etc they should feel free to sit in front of the TV/read a book and relax or have a sugary snack without fearing they are going to become obese when anyone sensible can see they are not in any danger of that!

Oh, seeing as I am on the subject, the "action plan" letter that has come round is not well done at all! I am intrigued to know how anyone else has managed to get anything worth having from it given the ridiculous options allowed for detailing a childs activity and diet.

Phew - that was cathartic

that particualr advert is patronising scaremongering - with three DDs who have a mum with weight issues, I'm incredibly conscious of the need not to demonise food, and the message "eat a cupcake and you will die" is not helpful in the slightest.
Haven't seen the questionnaire thing, but maybe thats' becasue I recycle junk mail wihtout properly looking at it. Doubt it woudl be of much use, based on what everyone else is saying.

so if I eat a cupcake I'm going to die young?
oh bugger.................

The adverts with the gloop in the tubes/arteries.... now they were effective

Scaremongeruing and frightening for children who don't understand the background research to the Ads.
All these campaigns don't work. People who notice and understand them don't need educating as they already know and understand about healthy eating. People who need educating won't notice or take any action to change their way of life.
Free accessable sports/swimming/dance/exercise classes for ALL children up to age 18 would be more effective.

I thinkI see these ads from an unusual perspective.

I have a nine year old son with a suspected eating disorder. Granted a lot fo that is related to an ASD but Dh and I see a MASSIVE worsening when adverts /school healthy eating schemes are run etc.

Why is it alls care tactics? It ytreatrs food as if it is poison, it'snot. A cupcake will not kill you. Not on a Fridayafter school, or in a cafe as a treat. In fact with my kidswho are skinny a home made cupcake on a daily basis is ok.

The parents at school with the obese kids come in at 9 eating chips (WTF do they get them?) and drinking cola. It's not about one treat every now and again, its about never eating anything health, driving everywhere and beingas active as a rock. And that's what kids need to know; too much unhealthy food, too little exercise and fruit veg..... thats what will hurt you.

I'm also interested in why everything is so GIRL focussed? That fern thing advertised about ED's talks about girls.... posts here also.... 1 in 10 people with an ed is male

The problem, IME, with free sports things (which I fully support btw) is the uptake thing, as you say DE,the people who need it don't use it! In our area we have various free or very cheap sports things on and they are always taken up by the sporty active children whos parents are more than happy to get them into as many sporting activities as possible. The children who do little or no sport or who would benefit from the extra exercise from a weight POV do not join in, often because the parents do not want to get them there. I have heard many local children saying they are not allowed to go to these things and it is always the same story. Which is a real shame!