Day 050 - 10 Nov 94 - Page 21
1
2 To go back to my milk analogy, many parents worry that
3 their children do not drink enough milk. So that if you go
4 to a restaurant, an eating out occasion, where there are
5 milkshakes available, they might welcome that -- just to
6 take that one element -- as a way of encouraging their
7 children to drink the milk in a form and in a place that is
8 acceptable to the child.
9
10 Q. If the child will not eat a balanced diet, how is
11 persuading the child to be happy with an unbalanced meal
12 going to help?
13 A. It depends what the other items are in the child's diet
14 in the course of a week. If, for example, a child is
15 reluctant to eat meat at home, then if they go to a
16 restaurant where they will eat meat, that may help to
17 balance their diet better than if they eat a very small
18 amount of protein. So that would be an example of the way
19 in which it might usefully help the parent to broaden the
20 child's intake of a well balanced diet.
21
22 Q. Yes. But that is presuming that the meal they eat when
23 they go out is going to be well balanced, because otherwise
24 how does it help?
25 A. With respect, I do not think the components of any
26 individual meal are the point. It is the totality of the
27 food they eat during the course of a week or a month.
28
29 Q. So would you accept, then, that advertisements that
30 encourage children to want to go out and eat in a
31 particular place will only actually be helpful if they are
32 helping to contribute to a balanced diet overall?
33 A. No, I do not agree with that. That would be one way in
34 which it would be helpful, but there are other ways as
35 well. You are implying that is the only way in which an
36 advertisement could be handled. I am afraid I do not agree
37 with that.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Why do children want to eat sugary foods, sugary
40 items?
41 A. As you know, I am not a nutritionist, but I understand
42 that sugar gives energy, and many children use a great deal
43 of energy.
44
45 Q. We can argue about that. But the point is that children
46 get a buzz from eating a chocolate bar, do they not? They
47 like the taste; they like the immediate effect?
48 A. I do not know. If they enjoy it, that is something.
49 But, certainly, you ask about why, and it is my
50 understanding that the sugar that they get from that kind
51 of item will, in fact, help their energy balance.
52
53 MR. MORRIS: There are many, many sources of energy, some of
54 which are less damaging than eating large amounts of
55 sugar. But that is an argument for nutrition.
56
57 What I am saying is that it is fun to eat a chocolate bar,
58 is it not?
59 A. It may be fun to eat lots of things.
60
