‘My little ones sing the jingles’

MOTHER-OF-THREE Dr Siobhán Donohue has told of her worry at hearing her children sing junk-food jingles.

The GP, from Bray, Co. Wicklow, who is currently on a career break, said the Government needs to intervene now to protect children’s health and avert the costly impact of caring for an obese population later on.

‘Personally I’ve had my own issues in the past with having to lose weight,’ she said. ‘So it’s something I am very acutely aware of.’

Dr Donohue’s children range in age from five to 11, and she said that when she goes shopping she is concerned by ‘the targeting of advertising at them and how aware they are of brands’.

‘I hear them singing the jingles to themselves – so I think what it proves is the power of advertising and it’s such a powerful tool, and companies know that. That’s why they use it,’ she said.

The doctor warned that ‘parents are under siege’ with information on so many different issues that they need support from the Government ‘with teeth’ unlike voluntary regulation.

‘Parents need help here, they need somebody in their corner,’ she said.

‘We want the Government to implement a policy that will actually ban junk-food companies from targeting their advertising at children.’