And while you're contemplating the kid on the couch, don't forget the dog in the corner. "Our dogs are getting overweight for exactly the same reasons we are," Zywicki noted. "They're eating too much and exercising too little. They're not watching too much advertising."
None of this is conclusive, but in a free society the burden of proof ought to be on those who want to restrict speech in the name of protecting children. Kunkel conceded their case is less than airtight, saying advertising should be viewed as a "risk factor" for obesity, not as a force that inevitably makes kids fat. "There may be countervailing factors in their lives that compensate for the effects of media exposure," he said.
Which brings us back to parents. Since rising weight trends appeared in adults before they showed up among children, it looks like kids are imitating their parents' habits. "For better or worse," Zywicki said, "kids eat what their parents eat."
In his book "Food Fight," Yale obesity expert Kelly Brownell -- who, like Kunkel, wants to eliminate advertising to children -- says, "It is easy to blame parents." No, it's not. It is easy to blame big corporations. Blaming parents means expecting them to take an active role in monitoring their kids' diets.
As New York University nutritionist Marion Nestle, another ad banner, suggests in her book "Food Politics," that is not a popular message. "Most parents of my acquaintance tell me they are constantly arguing with their children over food choices," she writes. "Many prefer to reserve family arguments about setting limits for dealing with aspects of behavior that they consider more important."
Please. If parents don't have the wherewithal to say no when their kids ask for something they saw on TV, their problems go far beyond the risk of chubby offspring.