marketing to children

i am a bit torn on the issue of the f.t.c.'s regulations with restricting marketing of unhealthy products towards children. my dilemma is that in a capitalist society, with a free market, a company should be able to advertise to whatever audience their product is aimed (within a reasonable form of media), but then, as a runner and health-conscious eater, i find myself having a problem with the child obesity (and ultra-fat culture) in america.

what can be done?

is it really fair to force companies into only being able to advertise to parents? those are the same parents who were already letting their kids eat the disgusting shit in the first place. how good could their judgement really be?

then again, why should these companies be able to do whatever they want? they have the money and marketing power to reinvent their advertising approach on a whim.

what it comes down to is who gets their chunk of freedom. should the company get the rights to produce whatever abhorrent products they can conjure, then let the parents decide whether to let their kids shove the pre-fab foods and beverages into their gullets? OR should the corporations be placed under tight restrictions, and the parents awarded the freedom of conscious knowing that these evil food goliath's are putting a little less effort into destroying the future health prospects of their children?