It has been an observation of mine that obese kids are brought up this way now for a specific purpose.

Consider these facts:- fat kids cant: run, jump, fight, work hard, walk anywhere, move fast, are a health risk in various ways, and grow to be older and more diverse versions of these facts.

Brought up this way by perhaps fat parents, or perhaps parents with an eye on the future, fat kids are only really useful for one thing:-occupying a space.

Hence, fat people become 'leaders', the brains of all and sundry outfits, the obese but opined specialist on all things bureaucratic and white collar.

It is my postualtion that the obesity explosion is no accident. It is a concerted effort by those involved to be lazy, to be well and truly fed and watered, and to do what lesser pigs can't do at the trough of life- push the wee piggys off.

Jolanda, good topic.
I, too, want to focus on the bribing of kids by food companies.
It is wrong that these cards are being used as a bribe to buy a certain brand of chips.
I’ve seen this happen many times- Tazzo’s were a big rage a few years ago.
Also, McDonalds and other fast food outlets are known for their “happy meals” toys.
Using bribes for kids to buy unhealthy foods should be banned, really.

Even though some parents, as other posters have pointed out, don’t care about health, I can’t see this as a good reason to allow child abuse by parents and those companies that use these irresponsible families as their niche to sell their sugary, salty or (trans) fatty crap to.
Adding cards or toys to an otherwise mediocre product makes it more desirable.

I have been guilty myself of buying that chocolate bar that gave me a chance to win $10,000 or a holiday. While these competitions are aimed at adults, it may be hard to draw the line of which ‘bribes’ (competitions, toys, cards etc) to ban and which ones to allow.
Usually competitions are part of a short promotion, while the use of kids’ toys seems to be a long-term thing.

Question is whether food advertisements directed at children should be banned altogether or permitted, or should there be only a ban on adding toys to unhealthy food products?

Even though I can see Leigh’s POV and read it with a smile, I think that keeping people unhealthy just puts unnecessary strain on our medical and hospital system.

That’s why I think there is more education and support needed for overweight families and one form of support would be to disallow fat-food companies to aim their advertising and bribes at children.
If we don’t choose to spend tax dollars on health education and support we will pay for it in another way, through our medical system.