Do junk food ads make kids fat? Should they be banned? Based on the evidence, more and more experts say yes. The latest support comes from a group of New Zealand experts who say they've made a link between kids watching television and bad health.
Researchers from the University of Otago in Dunedin studied 1000 children from age 3 to 26.They found that those who watched television more than two hours a day had higher levels of obesity(肥胖), blood cholesterol(膽固醇)and smoking — as well as lower levels of physical fitness — when they reached adulthood than kids who watched less than two hours a day.
Why? Partly because while they are watching TV kids aren't getting out, exercising and playing with other kids, and burning off the calories. But more insidiously(不知不覺地), while watching TV, they're being shown a lot of ads for drinks and foods of uncertain nutritional value, most of which are full of sugar and fat.
Across the globe, about 155 million kids are
obese, according to the International Obesity Task Force. The dangerous thing is not just the well-being of these kids as they grow up, but hundreds of billions of dollars of health costs spent on adults with heart disease, diabetes(糖尿。, and the disabilities these disease will cause.
In Australia, two thirds of children are overweight and one third are obese. Twenty years ago, only about ten per cent were obese. And Australia has the greatest amount of junk food ads per hour of television than any other country in the world, including the US and the UK. About 30 per cent of all ads in kids' viewing time are for food or drinks. Most of them are for junk food: burgers, chips, soft drinks and sweets —high in fat, salt or sugar.
Here in Australia, experts are also calling for a ban on TV advertising of junk food to kids. The Coalition on Food Advertising to Children (CFAC) wants to make changes to laws, hoping it can ban all food advertising on TV during the time of the day when children under 12 years old are watching. This includes early and afternoon time, and evening TV between 5 pm and 9 pm.
小題1:From the passage, we can infer that the underlined word “obsess” probably means ______.
A.very strong | B.very weak |
C.very confident | D.very fat |
小題2:According to the passage, how many hours can kids watch TV a day if they want to be healthier in the future?
A.more than 120 minutes a day | B.less than 120 minutes a day |
C.180 minutes or so a day | D.240 minutes or so a day |
小題3:______ has the greatest amount of junk food ads per hour of TV?
A.Australia | B.Chinese | C.Canada | D.Germany |
小題4:In the author’s opinion, the junk food ads on TV are bad for kids’ health because _______.
A.They are very expensive and harmful | B.They waste a lot of kids’ spare time |
C.They persuade kids to eat junk food | D.They are more inviting and interesting |