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Reports on a 1994 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF)‐funded review of literature on advertising and children’s food choice. Identifies and details four main research areas: frequency and content of television advertising to children; purchase request behaviour; influence of advertising on food‐related behaviour; and influence of advertising on attitudes and values.

Brian Joof, a young man of West African origin who has experienced and overcome long‐term mental health problems, describes his recovery process, during the course of which he has experienced the additional challenges of migration, racism, homelessness, drugs, prison and long‐term unemployment. Brian tells us how he has overcome each of these difficulties in turn to build an increasingly full and satisfying life for himself.

Begins with the vast range of diets worldwide, and how the structure and content of “acceptable” food varies; children’s attitudes and tastes for food are largely conditioned by the socialisation process via family and friends. Outlines the nature of food advertising as a secondary influence on brand choice against the backdrop of an established set of preferences and choices. Defines obesity as accumulation of fat in the body and indicates measures of this, such as the Body Mass Index (BMI). Moves on the causes of obesity, noting the importance of the genetic component: 25‐40% of the range of BMI may be attributed to heritability. Contrasts cultural attitudes to obesity in developed against developing societies.