A recent study theorized that banning fast food commercials would have a positive impact on childhood obesity. After all, most kids watch an awful lot of television -- being tempted by burgers and fries (not to mention the toys they're packaged with) can be a big draw. Pair that with the potential sleep problems and loss of physical activity due to TV watching and you've got a recipe for childhood obesity. Or do you?

I asked That's Fit readers what they thought about banning fast food commercials. Here are the results:

• 56.6 percent think banning fast food commercials is a good idea. Remove the temptation and maybe kids would beg and plead for fast food less often.
• 34.5 percent of you think kids will still want fast food, whether they see it on commercials or not.
  
• 8.7 percent of you voted for other. Many comments focused on the fact that it shouldn't matter whether kids see commercials or not -- parents should determine the types of food that their family is eating. Kids shouldn't be the ones who dictate what they eat.

Do you think you're up on knowledge about childhood obesity? Take this AOL Health childhood obesity quiz and find out.

Most fast food meals make me feel a little ill -- yet often, when I catch a fast food commercial running on TV, the food looks so good I salivate like Pavlov's dog. That's exactly what those commercials are designed to do -- make you crave a trip to your nearest fast food joint for whatever triple-decker, bacon-packed, artery-clogging burger they're advertising this week.

A recent study reviewed data on nearly 13,000 children to determine how many advertising commercials most children view on TV each week. Researchers believe the commercials have a big impact on the amount of children who eat fast food. They estimate that banning fast food commercials from TV would reduce obesity in children ages 3-11 by 18 percent and by 14 percent in adolescents ages 12-18.

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My son is in the fifth grade this year. The school's cafeteria is small, so they scatter the times kids go out for recess and to lunch. As the oldest kids in the school, my son's class doesn't hit the cafeteria until 1:00. Considering he catches the bus at 7:30, that's a long span of time before lunch.

His teacher has a scheduled snack time at 10:30 to help tide the kids over until lunch. She sent home a note regarding snack time for the kids. She recommended a list of healthy snack options which was great. But what was more impressive was this: she's banned candy from her classroom.

I thought it was wonderful. The kids will still be allowed to have candy on special occasions such as Valentine's Day. But on a day to day basis, my son's teacher is promoting good nutrition that will give them the energy they need.

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Recent research shows that when elementary schools ban soft drinks, the improvement in kids' health is minimal.

Schools who have removed soda vending machines have done so in an effort to improve student health. But research shows that fifth graders who attend schools where soda is banned consume only 4% less than students who have access to soda at school.

As far as I'm concerned, 4% is 4% is 4%. It may be a small improvement, but it's an improvement none-the-less. And since soda bans are relatively recent -- starting in 2003 in California -- I think time will still tell. It takes time to change kids' tastes and preferences. Parents just have to get on board, too, and save soda for the rare treat or avoid it altogether.

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Banning sweets in schools might cause an uproar among the students, but a new study shows that it really work in reducing the number of overweight kids. The studies followed schools in Stockholm after they banned junk food from school, and the result was a 6% decrease in the amount of overweight of obese kids. Pretty promising results, if you as me.

If sweets aren't yet banned in your child's school, consider taking it up with the school and the school board. And if that doesn't work, remember that healthy habits begin in the home, and just because junk food isn't banned at school, doesn't mean you can't ban it in your house.

I'm curious to know -- are there any bans on junk food in school in your area?

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Since the United States does not have federal smoking control legislation and each individual state must determine legislative bans, only about half of Americans are covered by a smoke free ordinance of some degree. Efforts to ban smoking have been developing since the early 1990s when research showed that secondhand smoke not only was an annoyance to nonsmokers, but actually was contributing to their death from lung cancer.

So I know some of you feel this subject is beat up but I have to speak out as a cancer survivor and also someone who is presently battling cancer and I am not a smoker. This is my two minutes. Moving back home to Virginia was nice to be around family members and old friends, but it has put a damper on how many times I will actually go out to eat or even go enjoy bowling or other social events. Because it means breathing second hand smoke. Going to a bar or even to a coffee shop to listen to live music is even a health risk and I just won't do it. As a songwriter and performer if I want to get paid shows in this state I have to breathe the smoke that comes with the places I would perform like restaurants, bars, or coffee shops. Could it be the fact that the largest manufacturer of cigarettes, Phillip Morris, is located in the state capital of Virginia in Richmond?

And coincidence or not, to even go south of me 15 minutes into North Carolina is not any relief either because North Carolina is the home of R.J. Reynolds tobacco company located in Winston Salem and legislation to ban smoking in public places has not passed in that state either.

When people talk about freedoms and being able to smoke in public, I think somebody else's freedom ends when it enters my lungs and causes serious health risks and forces me to give up the freedoms of going to places that I enjoy or need to work in to survive. Looking at research it seems for people to escape smoking in public places they have to move to northern states or to the west coast. The R.J Reynolds website states "Adults who smoke should avoid exposing minors to secondhand smoke." Well what about adults? See a map of the states with smoking bans by clicking here.