Junk food is something you generally want to avoid, but parents find that pester power often prevails.

We all know convenience foods and fatty snacks are loaded with things that are not good for us but demand is driven by the hectic lives we lead. No excuse I know, but it's true.

We are aware that obesity is one of the big health topics of our time and are conscious it could happen to us, but as adults it is up to us to lead a healthy lifestyle and hope we can guide our younger generation by example.

Nobody can ignore the fact that childhood obesity is as big a problem, if not bigger, than adult obesity. Predictions that parents could outlive their offspring if they fail to kick the couch potato lifestyle into touch are very worrying.

For children, imaginative play in the streets outside appears to have been replaced by sitting indoors exercising only their fingers on a computer games console, while no doubt consuming sugary drinks and snacks.

Then there's so-called pester power'. Parents appear too willing to bow down to pressure to buy convenience snacks instead of sticking to their guns and saying no'. Easier said than done, I know, but thinking about the long-term damages that obesity would have on your child's health should ease your conscience.

According to a new report by The British Heart Foundation, almost three quarters of children no longer consider junk food as a treat. Startling isn't it?

Also alarming are the marketing tricks aimed at youngsters to help them engage in playing' with junk food.

The report found that one in five children in Britain have spent time playing a game on a food or drink label and one in eight have played a game on a food or drink company's website.

Two thirds of Britain's parents claim to be concerned about the effect that junk food and drink advertising has on their children's food choices, which is why the British Heart Foundation is making a stance through its annual Food4Thought campaign.

With predictions that one in four children will be obese by 2050, the campaign aims to help today's youngsters think carefully about the food they eat.

It is also demanding a total ban on all junk food marketing to children as a prerequisite for any effective future strategies to tackle childhood obesity in the UK.

Dr Mike Knapton, BHF director of prevention and care, says: "Junk food marketing messages are skewing children's idea of what normal food is and undermining their understanding of a treat.

"The infestation of artery-clogging foods that make up our children's everyday diets is putting their hearts and long-term health at great risk."

In response to the junk food websites which use games to attract children, www.bhf.org.uk/food4thought is an interactive games website allowing youngsters to explore a virtual world and expose hidden marketing messages and food content.

Hard-hitting advertisements on popular children's websites will help children find out what's really in the junk food that marketers are trying to sell them.

The charity is also sending out special teacher packs to more than 2,000 schools throughout the UK, including several in Bradford. These include red reveal' glasses, a popular marketing gimmick to help children see through junk food marketing messages, and hard-hitting mini-clip' advertisements on popular children's websites to help children find out what's really in junk food.

The Girls Grammar School, Bradford, is among several recipients of the special teacher packs in the district. The school has supported the BHF campaign for the past three years and count the charity and school dinners champion, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as the main instigator in encouraging their own pupils to become involved in expanding the school's healthy menu options.

Pasta bakes, salad bars and smoothies have become the staple of the healthy diet here. Salt is banned and the girls are more than happy to enjoy chips just once a week!

Michele Muirhead, the school's pastoral senior manager, says: "Pastoral care for our girls is a vital part of our Life Skills programme here and for this reason, the work undertaken by the British Heart Foundation to promote their varied approaches to a healthy lifestyle and, in particular, strategies for avoiding obesity within schools, suits our needs.

"Through School Council girls are involved in discussions with regard to healthy food options offered in the dining room; they are involved in poster competitions which highlight healthy eating and these are displayed outside the dining room and emphasis on a balanced diet and participation in a wide range of sports seems to match the philosophy of the British Heart Foundation."

Dixons City Academy is another keen supporter of the BHF campaign. Science teacher Ruth Wilson says the academy has always been pro-active in promoting healthy eating through the canteen and curriculum.

For the past three years the academy has used the BHF information packs as part of its Year 9 healthy eating project. "We have looked at advertising and how things can be skewed to appeal to children and we've looked at fake and real and artificial colourings. Then we give it to the children and they come up with presentations. It's an informative tool," says Ruth.

Jane Thompson, obesity champion for Bradford, works within a multi-agency partnership involving the NHS, hospitals and the local authority, educating on healthy eating and living through various national and community-based projects.

Jane believes rising obesity levels are multi-faceted. "Changes in our society have resulted in more and more people being overweight and obese."

Driving to our schools and workplaces, sitting at computers and televisions have led us all into a more sedentary lifestyle.

"We have come away from a society which is more physically active in work and the ways in which we go about our daily time," says Jane.

She believes the growth in popularity of take-away food and the seductive advertising' highlighted in the BHF campaign are also acting as barriers to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

"The snack industry has grown massively over the last 20 years. A lot of cheap food is accessible and I think children tend to be economically independent - more have money to spend on snacks and food outside the home so there are lots of subtle differences acting as barriers to a healthy diet and being more active."

However, she says there are plenty of projects in Bradford actively working to break those barriers down.

The Healthy Schools Programme is an educational initiative within the city's educational establishments. Jane says schools are encouraged to achieve Healthy School Status and food is one criteria they have to fulfil.

Then there is Bradford Council's B Active campaign to encourage participation in sport and leisure. These are just some of the many effective ways the city and district is tackling the problem.

"There are some real barriers to counteract and it needs action on an individual level and legislative level so we all have our part to play," says Jane.

  • For more information visit www.bhf.org.uk/food4thought and www.bhf.org.uk/donttargetme offers tips for parents on how they can support their children to eat healthily.