'Pester power' can turn shopping into a nightmare, but Mary Whiting of the Food Commission offers some tips to help you cope
It all starts at home with endless television adverts aimed at children. Then, in supermarkets, children see the familiar images on packaging, plus 'free gifts' and 'collections' to make, endorsements by celebrities and so on. No wonder children are seduced.
The agenda
Food firms are in business to make profits, not to build the health of the nation. 'Pester power' is brilliantly profitable and in their trade journals, companies are openly urged to use it. However, most 'children's' foods are highly-processed, nutrient-depleted, additive-laden and high in sugar, salt or fat. When you understand that they are created to nourish profits, not children, it's easier to reject these products.
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