Three Fourths of Children Unaware of Junk Food Life-Threatening Effects

British Heart Foundation has launched a campaign called Eat Smart aimed at children. The survey conducted by the foundation revealed that three out of four children have no idea about the effects of unhealthy eating.

73 percent of children aged between 8 and 15 were unaware of how unhealthy diet might impact their lifespan. About 45 percent of surveyed kids were dead sure that among the worst things about junk food were weight gain, caries and becoming unpopular with peers.

Latest studies show that about two thirds of children will be obese by 2050, and today’s youngsters can pioneer as the generation that won’t outlive their parents, according to the foundation’s representative. Obesity is known to be one of the risk factors of heart disease. That’s why the foundation launched its Eat Smart initiative.

The campaign is trying to get children interested in physical activity. Under the program, schools can receive the instructions on how to play dodgeball, balls and posters. In addition, on-line game Yoobot was re-launched this year, designed to make children choose healthy food and exercise. In the game, kids can create their own character and monitor how its health changes depending on its diet and the level of physical activity over a long period of time. Last year, kids created over 1, 25 million characters.

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/sfllaw.