TUESDAY, Sept. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Drug companies that advertise directly to consumers may not be getting their money's worth, a new study contends.

The research, published Tuesday in the online British Medical Journal, found that despite the billions that are being spent on direct-to-consumer drug marketing campaigns, the advertising is having a modest effect at best on sales.

The only two countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to patients are the United States and New Zealand.

Children targets of $1.6 billion in food ads.

FTC advises that popular characters be tied to healthful products.

The commission studied spending directed at children ages 2-17. Spending on soda marketing came to $492 million, with the vast majority of that spending directed toward adolescents. For cereals, companies spent about $237 million, with the vast majority of that targeted to children under age 12.

In a perfect world, we'd all eat fresh fruit and veggies, low fat, high protein foods and fast foods would be non-existent.

But since we all live in the real world, fast food is a reality for nearly all of us.
Simply stated - Americans love fast food.

To answer the question of how much is too much, many nutritionists would say any amount is too much. Fast food is an overly processed collection of salty, saturated fats that offer little in terms of nutrition. And for the most part, the nutritionists are right.

Got a case of the Jimmy Legs?

Some people believe Restless Leg Syndrome is one of those fancy new afflictions that people think they have because it's trendy and sometimes it seems that one must suffer from some kind of syndrome or other to belong!

THURSDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- The large number of fast food commercials on Spanish-language television in the United States may be contributing to the obesity epidemic among Hispanic youths, new research suggests.

Among American children, Hispanics have the highest rates of overweight and obesity.

It's a debate that's been ranging for nearly 15 years, but one that never seems to end with any answers. Should drug companies advertise directly to consumers? Supporters say it provides information and solutions to people who may be suffering from a particular condition. Critics say such advertising "creates" its own market, leads to self medication and takes away a doctor's ability to fully evaluate a patient or condition. Where do you stand?