Fast-food ad ban called for

An article in the AJC this week prompted me to write a letter to the editor. Here's the gist of the article:

A little less “I’m Lovin’ It” could put a significant dent in the problem of childhood obesity, suggests a new study that attempts to measure the effect of TV fast-food ads. A ban on such ads would reduce the number of obese young children by 18 percent and obese older kids by 14 percent, researchers found.

My response was:

Kids are not obese because of fast-food ads. There are zero calories in a TV or radio ad, and unless you eat the paper it's printed on, there are no calories in a newspaper or magazine ad. The calories come from actually eating fast food, and we all understand that young children (who have no money or transportation) are being fed fast food by their parents. The fault, therefore lies entirely on the parents who choose to feed their kids obesity-inducing amounts of fast food and chips, cookies, and unhealthy food at home.

Update: got a call today from AJC verifying permission to run my letter. Looks like I'm published again!