Have you seen the latest Dairy Queen commercial? A mom walks in her living room, sees her kids playing and notices a commercial for an ice cream treat on TV. It looks so good, she asks the kids if they want to go get one. She leaves, and the boys turn off the video; the commercial wasn't on TV -- they had recorded it and played it in hopes of tricking their mom. It cracks me up every time.

The see-and-eat concept falls right in line with a recent post on CafeMom. Michael Pollan, author of The New York Times best seller "The Omnivore's Dilemma," recently said in an interview that we shouldn't buy food we see advertised. He has a point -- burgers, fries, sweet treats and other goodies are advertised non-stop, but commercials for fruits, vegetables and other healthful foods are more rare.

Tell me: Are your eating habits influenced by commercials?

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Upstairs in my shower there is a bottle of shampoo that has big letters stating "formulated with biotin." Obviously the manufacturers want me to believe it's a good thing. Biotin is a B vitamin that's found in lots of foods, but why is it in my shampoo and what is supposed to do? Your guess is as good as mine.

The weight loss industry isn't immune from this tried and true marketing technique. Take Slim Fast for example. Have you seen their recent commercial where a woman literally kicks her cravings? (I absolutely love the concept of kicking a giant-sized donut to smithereens.) The voice over for the commercial states that Slim Fast's HC4 will control hunger for up to four hours.

So what is HC4? Magic? Fairy dust? According to Slim Fast's website, HC4 is a blend of proteins, fiber and lipids. So no magic. No fairy dust. Just every day things that can be found in a healthy diet. If you're considering Slim Fast or any other diet aid, be sure to really check out the fancy names and claims that they make. You may find out that it doesn't really live up to the hype.

Have you ever used an appetite suppressant, diet pill or other diet aid? What made you decide to try it? What results did you see?

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If you're an everyday athlete -- a Saturday night softball league pitcher, a runner who beats the pavement nightly, a biker who braves back country trails, a hard-core gym rat, or any other fitness enthusiast you may be just the person Gatorade is looking for.

One catch ... your name has to be Serena.

Gatorade is going to launch a new campaign for its G2 sports drink. They're looking for everyday athletes (who happen to be named Serena) to star in commercials with tennis great, Serena Williams. Shape magazine has the details.

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I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think 100-calorie packs are a completely ridiculous concept. Why? Well, I'm not against the easy calorie control. However, I think that some people get lured by the siren's song of "100 calories" and start to think they're eating healthfully. Sorry, but junk food is junk food. It reminds me of the low-fat craze in the early 90s; my college friends and I used to by Entenmann's fat-free pastries and we seriously thought -- because they were fat free -- they wouldn't contribute to weight gain. Yeah. I left college about 35 pounds heavier than when I started.

Oreo Cakesters has a commercial which is just so wrong. I thought I was being overly critical about it, until I found another health blogger who feels the same way. Watch the video and you'll see women chasing down a Cakesters delivery van. Notice there's not a heavy woman among them. Notice there's not a man among them. Notice how they're all completely maniacal and crazed over these 100-calorie packs. Okay, okay ... I get that it's supposed to be a joke. But there's a kernel of truth to most jokes, and people have gone a little nutty over 100-calorie packs.

What do you think about the commercial? Do you find it borderline offensive like I do? Or do you think it's funny?

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We've talked about Blake Lively a few times here at That's Fit, but she's not the one who just completed a bad ass Nike ad. That honor goes to Taylor Momsen.

Momsen, known as "Little J" to her legions of Gossip Girl fans, doesn't exactly play a sporty character. She's more into short hemlines, massive amounts of eyeliner, and unfortunate haircuts. However, in real life (well, in a Nike commercial, anyway), she's beyond sporty -- she's practically a superhero.

After this, I wouldn't be surprised to see more paparazzi-prone starlets lacing up their sneaks when exiting Hollywood hotspots. It could be a new form of celebrity fitness -- 'razzi racing!

I just had the TV on and the above commercial ran. I about choked on my glass of water when I read the fine print:

• Results Not Typical. Clinical studies have shown average caloric intake was reduced by 12.5 percent to 30 percent.
• Cartoon Dramatization. Results not typical. Real people require diet and exercise to lose body fat.
  

Bummer. I'm a real person so I guess I can't expect to lose weight as quickly as that cartoon did.

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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Kristen told us about the recently-launched high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) ad campaign. By now, you've probably seen the commercials. The ads bother me to no end. Not only because they imply that HFCS is natural ("it's made from corn") but because of the disturbing way the people are portrayed.

The people who are concerned about HFCS in the commercials come off rude, condescending, and uninformed. Seriously. Would you actually tell a friend that you don't think they care what they feed their kids? On the other hand, the people who think HFCS is fine are knowledgeable and polite. Personally, I think the commercials poke fun at people who are health-conscious and care about what they put in their bodies.

CBS News launched an investigation and found that three of the six studies supporting the Corn Refiners Association's claim that HFCS is no different than sugar were funded by organizations that stand to profit from HFCS acceptance. It's not unusual for parties with a vested interest to fund studies, but it does give reason to raise a questioning eyebrow.

[via FitSugar]

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Think about it: What form of technology has made the single biggest impact in the lives of children over the past 100 years? Computers have revolutionized the world, but I suspect television has made the biggest impact on young people, particularly because they are a captive audience subjected to clever and manipulative advertising that is targeted specifically at them. As such, it's believed that TV advertising is one of the top causes of ever-rising childhood obesity.

This revelation has caused Mark Scott, the Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corp, to push back against kid-targeted advertising, and he's calling for a commercial-free Children's channel to be developed down under.

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Here's a cute video that sums up the term 'muffin top' nicely, and since a previous post I did on the muffin top was one of the most popular posts on That's Fit, I thought you guys would get a kick out of it.

What do you think -- should the guy in the video tell her what a muffin top really is, or should he let her stay blissfully unaware and convinced that 'muffin top' is a compliment?

(Via Back in the Skinny Jeans)

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Normally I don't think that marketing products to children is very honest or ethical. However, I don't have a problem with Dove's latest ad, which is aimed squarely at young girls. The commercial, which you can see at ParentDish in this post by Jonathon Morgan, is the second by the company to bring attention to the sort of (mis)information we are fed by the beauty industry.

The first ad was the one that began with a regular young woman and then fast-forwarded to the same girl transformed into a beauty queen with the many steps necessary to change her look shown in between. The new commercial, titled Onslaught, begins with a young girl and then displays a barrage of fashion and beauty images that promote a thinner, prettier and more perfect ideal. The video ends with a message urging parents to talk to their young daughters before the beauty industry does.

As this piece mentions, the videos are part of Dove's campaign to raise awareness about the industry and more importantly, to raise women's self-esteem. I've seen the ad and I think it's great. What do you think about the video and the campaign?

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FitSpirit explores the mind-body connection and the intangible benefits we gain from our efforts to stay physically fit.

On June 21, hundreds of people celebrated the start of summer on the longest day of the year by commencing yoga class in a city marked by madness. Smack dab in New York City's Times Square, on the island at the intersection of Broadway and 7th Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, yoga enthusiasts rolled out their mats and set up shop for the annual Mind Over Madness Yoga event. This year's extravaganza was the largest ever.

The purpose of this yoga fest? To face the challenge of finding tranquility and transcendence in the midst of the world's most commercial and frenetic place.

If ever we all have something in common, it must be the desire to find calm in the midst of chaos. Who doesn't want to breathe easy, rid themselves of anxiety, and tackle life with a peaceful energy? It's human nature to seek serenity.

While summer is behind us and the madness of this official event is long over, it's not to late to pull out your own yoga mat. Take it to the center of your own town if this strikes your fancy. Or simply find a quiet place and strengthen your mind, body, and spirit with the 3,000-year-old practice that is good for every bit and piece of your soul.

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