Disney has joined forces with Mayor Bloomberg and the First Lady Michelle Obama in an effort to curb child obesity in the United States.  Hopefully it is not too late.  The numbers are staggering; approximately a quarter of American children are fat.  They will likely grow up to be unhealthy, fat adults who will tap more than their fair share of health care resources (something that is already having a grave impact on the US economy).  It is a $100 Billion per year expense for the economy now, and will only grow unless the trend is reversed, according to the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry.

The Walt Disney Co. said Tuesday that it will become the first major media company to ban such ads for its TV channels, radio stations and websites intended for children. That means kids watching Saturday morning children’s shows on Disney’s ABC network will no longer see ads for fast foods and sugary cereals that don’t meet company’s nutrition standards.

As Rod Dreher (of The American Conservative)  writes, the reason American children are so fat has less to do with the sort of television they watch and more to do with their parents’ choices.  I am not so sure, but it cannot hurt that the bombardment of advertisements for sugary cereals, drinks and candy is going to be less on Saturday mornings thanks to the Obama initiative which she has been championing since before her husband became President.