Regarding the HFCS debate, there is much debate overe this additive. But it has been shown to cause obesity. They are also linking it to the rise in Diabetes. Children are developing type 2/adult diabetes. The molecular structure is different and the body processes it differently. It’s cheap to use. They put more HFCS in these products than we can taste. After it hits a certain concentration, adding any more is useless. But the brain knows. The brain loves this sugarry substance, it’s like a drug, working on our pleasure centers. You ever look at an ingredient list? Cereal is one product that has an unbeliveable amount of sugars. They trick naieve consumers by listing sugar, HFCS, CS, CS sollids, fructose, etc. This is the best marketing gimmic of all. You don’t even realize it. You eat a food, and your brain say’s “mmm. This is good. I’ll have to keep eating this”.

Ruthie

http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2007/sepoct/features/wansink.html

I loved the example that even experienced bartenders will pour more into a short, wide glass than a tall skinny glass!

Advertising that manipulates us using our natural psychological tendencies will “con” us even when we think we know better…

I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Advertising can be a good way to learn about what products are available, and if you see an ad for something that meets a need (or a want) that you already know you have, there’s no harm in that.

Back in Canada for two weeks this summer I was stunned at how many commercials there were. I watched 15 mins of a NASCAR rebroadcast and had to turn it off, literally a commercial every two mins, same with Dr Phil. Europe (expect UK) tends to run half the numbers of commercials and when they do they tend to run in blocks (I’ve seen up to 15 mins at a time) so some channels you get the commercials only at the beginning or the end.

An interesting if slightly boring and somewhat dated at times book worth reading is the Overspent American it really opens your eyes to how much were pushed to spend. Really helped us in getting out of the spending mentality (to a degree anyways :) )

Whenever I include anything with HFCS in my diet over a sustained period of time (3 days or so), I just notice myself feeling more lethargic, sleepy and just generally sluggish. My weight does go up too. Interestingly, not so with cane sugar. HFCS is truly evil – I avoid it like the plague. It’s really everywhere – bread, coke, ketchup, non-100% fruit juices, chocolate milk, just about everything. But I’ve discovered brands of each of these that are HFCS-free, they taste great and feel light. OroWheat whole wheat bread without HFCS – what a discovery that was :)!

The problem with your argument is that in many (probably a large majority) of cases, that HFSC would just be replaced with regular sugar. Which is arguably “better” but still has the same calorie content.

The other side is that it is likely that with the higher cost of cane sugar people would consume less. If you want to start a debate — argue something relating to the corn subsidies leading to HFCS being cheap therefore making sweet snacks/sodas cheap. And how THAT leads to the obesity epidemic :).

The first thing you mention about turning off the TV REALLY works. My husband and I turned ours off in early 2002 and never looked back. We go to a friend’s house to watch the Patriots play football, and if there’s a show we MUST see, we watch it online or on DVD–no commercials! We noticed a huge difference in our spending habits just from avoiding commercials. Even our friends with kids never turn on the TV. If their kids want to watch something, they get to see (again) DVDs…and the bonus is that the parents know exactly what their kids are taking in.

Have you ever read Maxx Barry’s novel “Syrup”? The mention of Coke made me think of it. Talk about the power of advertising. :D