At California's Merced High School junior Vivianna Enriquez walks across Olive Avenue almost every day during her lunch break to chow down on french fries.
What makes fries so tasty that Enriquez wants to eat them every day? "All the grease," she said.
You may have seen billboards promoting healthier eating habits. Or you may have heard radio commercials about increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables. Or you may have seen changes in your child's school menus.
The goal: to improve nutrition and try to get people like Enriquez to change their eating habits.
The Network for a Healthy California is allocating $985,000 for the 2011 fiscal year for the placement of outdoor advertising to promote healthy eating and physical activity in several cities throughout the state.
However, despite efforts to help promote nutrition and good dietary habits among youngsters, many of them aren't getting the message, experts say.
While there's no simple answer, the problem stems from a combination of aggressive fast-food marketing, affordability and accessibility, habits that youngsters pick up at home, money and behavior and a lack of nutritional education.
Children and teenagers are exposed to more fast-food ads than ever before, according to a 2010 study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. In 2009, the fast-food industry spent more than $4.2 billion on TV commercials and other media ads.
More than $300 million is spent each year to market fast food to youngsters, the study found.
Read the complete story at mercedsunstar.com