Children today, have a lot of options and variety available to them unlike the children of the previous generations. But, how healthy are these options for them? There is a growing obesity epidemic in all parts of the world. Industrialization and globalization of food business has led to such a situation that a majority of the food from popular global majors is reconstituted food. Marketers are adding sugar, fat, salt and additives to increase the taste of the food. Marketing and advertising tactics have promoted pester power, which children use to influence parents in their food decision-making. Various unethical marketing tactics and advertising programs like use of cartoons, television and film characters to endorse products, endorsements from popular cine and sports stars, endorsements through school marking programs, have made many brands the preferred choice of children. Ignorance about nutritional programs equipped with increased affluence is making parents listen and succumb to their children's demands. In the absence of a food commission and proper mechanism to regulate the market, the author proposes methods and strategies that can be used to curb this menace and build a generation of healthy and intelligent future citizens of the country.

Happiness is a state of mind-goes a famous adage. How relevant is this in the context of children? When it comes to children, it is more to do with taste in the mouth than value in the mind. At least, that is what we are forced to believe from the way food categories and brands are advertized in the Indian market. By this statement, we are not making any assumption, while a large chunk of Indian children living in rural areas, slums and shanties has no access to quality food, the middle and upper class children have the luxury of enjoying tasty foods of the world. But, tasty food does not necessarily mean quality food. Junk food has brought the health and hygiene issue to the forefront. Growing obesity among urban children is raising a debate across the globe. While marketing by promoting `pester power' is banned almost across the globe in some form or the other, food marketers are using children to create brand loyalty without much care for healthy food. Though all food companies cannot be grouped under unethical practitioners and `exploiters of children', a majority of them are trying to build consumer loyalty through implicit use of advertising targeting this vulnerable segment.

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