|
Food and beverage advertising said shaping kids diet habits
The billions of dollars being spent on marketing junk food are teaching American kids to prefer sweet, fat food, the Institute of Medicine said Tuesday. Even the food preferences of toddlers are being influenced, perhaps for life, by advertising and other marketing tools, the institute said. "The prevailing pattern of food and beverage marketing to children in America represents, at best, a missed opportunity and, at worst, a direct threat to the health of the next generation," the institute said in a report ordered by Congress and commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report said low-income kids, who already face disparities in their health, social well-being and nutrition, are at the greatest risk. The institute, an affiliate of the National Academy of Sciences, said that total advertising by expures by food, beverage and restaurant companies amounted to more than $11 billion last year. The "preponderance" of food and beverage advertising directed at children and youth is aimed at promoting products that are "high in total calories, sugars, salt, fat and low in nutrients," said a committee of outside experts impaneled by the institute to study the issue. ... But Richard Daynard, a Northeastern University law school professor who played a key role in the tobacco suits, said he was preparing a lawsuit against soft drink manufacturers over he presence of vending machines in elementary schools. He said state consumer protection laws against deceptive advertising might be used to sue food and beverage manufacturers on the grounds that advertising to small children is by its nature deceptive.
For a copy of the complete article, contact CJRG. |