The debate over how to prevent childhood obesity continues to make headlines, with a mixture of positive and negative news stories. While each article focuses on a different angle, the overarching theme is that this complex issue has no clear “bad guy” and no simple solution.
Some 40% of U.S. children and teens are overweight or obese, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The increase has leveled off, but the numbers are not decreasing.
Congress Shelves Nutritional Guidelines
On the surface, no one would argue that it’s good to have obese children, but efforts to address the issue through government regulation of food labeling and nutritional standards have faced significant opposition from industry groups.
Case in point: In 2009, Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, the Agriculture Department, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Food and Drug Administration (deemed the Interagency?Working Group) came together to set national food standards for food products aimed at those under 18. The commission expected to release its recommendations in July 2010.
However, in late 2011, this initiative was shelved after Congress passed a bill requiring a cost-benefit analysis to measure how many jobs the proposed regulations would impact. It also should be noted that food and beverage groups have spent more than $175 million since 2009 on federal lobbying against nutritional standards, according to the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.
Other government initiatives have had mixed results. In June 2012, New York City officials called for a ban on large-sized soft drinks at sports stadiums, retail shops, and restaurants. The proposal is still making its way through the legislature at press time but looks likely to pass. It appears the initiative will only cover soda, despite hip hop personality Russell Simmons’ efforts to have the ban extended to large-size milk drinks.
Meanwhile, a proposed ban on including toys in children’s fast-food meals appears to have lost steam after failing to expand beyond a few municipalities, primarily in California. Furthermore, a handful of cities have since passed city proposals that are basically reverse toy bans, which means they forbid proposals that even suggest the idea of fast-food toy bans.
Food Makers Continue To?Self-Regulate
Self-regulation by food and beverage marketers has continued to evolve since the early 2000s. The largest food and beverage makers, including Kellogg, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi, have enhanced the nutritional content of their kid-targeted products, and many will voluntarily reduce or cease child-targeted advertising beginning December 31, 2013. Some 13 of 16 child-targeted cereal brands, for instance, have improved their nutritional content — primarily by reducing sodium and sugar?— since 2009, according to the Rudd Center.
Similarly, Disney is introducing “Mickey Check,” an icon identifying products that adhere to its nutritional guidelines. Starting in 2015, Disney will forbid advertisements on Disney channels by brands that don’t meet these standards.
General Mills and Post have discontinued their children’s advergaming websites. Preschoolers’ exposure to TV ads for cereal brands declined by 6% between 2009 and 2012, according to the Rudd Center. Seven kid-targeted cereal brands reduced their TV advertising to 6-11-year-olds during this time.
Overall, marketing of children’s cereals has increased, however, mostly on TV. Media spending to promote child-targeted cereals reached $264 million in 2011, up 34% from 2008. In 2011, 6-11-year-olds saw 1.9 cereal TV ads per day, and preschoolers saw 1.6 ads each day.
Black children’s exposure to cereal ads jumped 8% from 2008 to 2011, with the biggest increases being ads for Kellogg Froot Loops (+88%), and General Mills Reese’s Puffs (+72%). Ad spending on Spanish-language TV doubled from $26 million in 2008 to $65 million in 2011. Hispanic preschoolers saw, on average, 90 Spanish-language ads for cereal in 2011.
Source: Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University, Rebecca Gertsmark Oren, Director of Communications, PO Box 208369, New Haven, CT 06520; 203-436-2513; rebecca.oren@yale.edu; www.cerealfacts.org.
YouGov, Ted Marzilli, SVP, Managing Director BrandIndex, 12 Desbrosses St., New York, NY 10013; 646-723-4646; ted.marzilli@yougov.com; www.yougov.com.
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