A ban on TV 'junk food' advertising on shows with 'larger than average' under-16 audiences has been announced. It doesn't just cover the likes of McDonald's and KFC, but even basics like Marmite, chocolate, and cereals. This naive piece of social engineering is designed to tackle rising rates of childhood obesity.

When I was a child, growing up in the 1980s, it was almost impossible to be young and obese. Half the time we were cycling around on our bikes and playing in the fields, and our parents fed us well. Despite this, the TV was flooded with junk food commercials. However, (most of) our parents (and I use 'our' to refer to all of my friends at the time) were not docile idiots who pandered to every whim of the television and who were so scared of us talking to strangers and Britain's non-existant roaming gangs of paedophiles that they wouldn't let us go out and play all the time. We walked to school and ridiculed people who lived near to the school who were driven there, yet this now seems the norm.

The BBC makes Fox News look impartial with a 8 against 1 page of "reactions" to the ban, with no civil liberties groups represented. The only balanced responses come from a collection of 9 to 15 year olds on the Children's BBC NewsRound site who, unlike most adults, appear to understand that an advertising ban will not stop their generation wanting to eat chocolate and burgers.

If the government wants to turn the UK into a nanny state of citizens both dependent upon, and controlled by, television, why not ban cigarettes, alcohol advertising, or make steps to get kids to enjoy physical activity while still enjoying the childhood pleasures of chocolate, the odd burger from McDonald's, and crisps?