A University of Liverpool study contends that “celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product.” The study’s authors also assert that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the TV celebrity in a different context. The study involved 181 children, ages 8 through 11, some of whom were asked to watch a 20-minute cartoon that included one of three different commercials: one for a particular brand of potato chips endorsed by former soccer star Gary Lineker; one for a different snack food; and one for a toy. Another group of children viewed TV footage of Lineker at an event not related to the snack food. The ads included one for Walker’s potato chips featuring the soccer hero; a promo for a snack food with no celebrity endorsement; and a commercial for a toy, also without a celebrity…
A recent study based on the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) has allegedly identified a “moderate positive association” between processed meat consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, cancer and other causes. Sabine Rohrmann, et al., “Meat consumption and mortality – results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition,” BMC Medicine, March 2013. Relying on EPIC data from 448,568 healthy adults between ages 35 and 69, researchers reported that consuming more than 160 grams (approximately 5.6 ounces) of processed meat per day was related to moderately higher all-cause mortality. In particular, they estimated “that 3.3 % ... of all deaths could be prevented if all participants had a processed meat consumption” of less than 20 grams (0.7 ounces) per day. The study’s authors noted, however, that unlike similar studies undertaken in the United States, their analysis did not find any association between red meat intake…
A recent study has reportedly identified “an association between postnatal urinary bisphenol A (BPA) concentrations and asthma in children.” Kathleen Donohue, et al., “Prenatal and postnatal bisphenol A exposure and asthma development among inner-city children,” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, March 2013. Columbia University researchers apparently used urinary samples collected from pregnant women during their third trimesters and from their children at ages 3, 5 and 7 years to conclude that BPA concentrations (i) “at age 3 years were associated positively with wheeze at ages 5 years … and 6 years,” (ii) “at age 7 years were associated with wheeze at age 7,” and (iii) “at ages 3, 5, and 7 years were associated with asthma measured at ages 5 to 12 years.” The authors also noted, however, that “prenatal BPA concentrations were associated inversely with odds of wheeze at age 5 years,” a finding that contradicted their initial hypothesis…
Food writer Tom Philpott has authored a March 13, 2013, Mother Jones article taking issue with a meta-analysis of bisphenol A (BPA) studies that toxicologist Justin Teeguarden recently presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the meta-analysis covered 150 exposure studies and 130 toxicity studies, and ultimately concluded that “people’s exposure may be many times too low for BPA to effectively mimic estrogen in the body,” according to a recent press release issued by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PPNL). In particular, Teeguarden argued that human BPA exposure usually occurs at levels well below detection, pointing to the combined results of exposure studies apparently showing “that human blood levels of BPA are expected to be too far below levels required for significant binding to four of the five key estrogen receptors to cause biological effects.” His research also…
The New York Times has reported that an “anti-Bloomberg” bill intended to curtail the ability of local governments to pass food regulations has gained significant support in Mississippi, where Governor Phil Bryant (R) is expected to sign the measure into law. “It is easy to view the new Mississippi law with an ironic eye,” writes Atlantic Bureau Chief Kim Severson, pointing to obesity rates in the state. “But the legislation is the latest and most sweeping expression of a nationwide battle in which some government officials, public health leaders and food supply reformers are pitted against those who would prefer the government quit trying to control what people eat.” Since its introduction by Sen. Tony Smith (R-Harrison), who owns a barbeque restaurant, the bill has apparently garnered support from other food retailers as well as agricultural interests, such as the farm bureau and Mississippi Poultry Association. Broader in scope than…
George Washington University Professor John Banzhaf has reportedly issued an assignment to some 200 undergraduate students requiring them to lobby their local legislators in favor of measures, such as the limits on sugary beverages in New York City found invalid this week by a federal court, that will address obesity. Claiming that the assignment is fully consistent with the university’s advertised claims—“Your Four Years at GWU Can Change the Course of History” and “Faculty and Students Don’t Just Study the World, They Work to Change It—Banzhaf, known for crusading with his law students against cigarette manufacturers, says he will show, through the students in his Food & Politics class, how “even undergraduates can have a significant impact on public health problems.” See PRLog, March 4, 2013.
Advocacy organization As You Sow, which recently issued a report on nanomaterials in food, is continuing to test products for nano-scale ingredients and has conducted a crowdfunding campaign to finance the initiative. Further details about the report appear in Issue 470 of this Update. The organization apparently succeeded in raising the $6,000 needed to test Betty Crocker Whipped Frosting®, which purportedly contains the same coloring additive found in Dunkin’ Donuts, a product highlighted in the report.
The first edition of a global “Access to Nutrition Index,” evaluates the “nutrition-related commitments, performance and disclosure practices of 25 of the world’s largest food and beverage manufacturers.” Contending that food and beverage companies “must do more to increase access to nutritious products and positively exercise their influence on consumer choice and behavior,” the report ranked Danone and Nestlé among its top performers, but stated that even these companies “have significant room for improvement.” Housed at the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the three-year initiative was funded by GAIN, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust. According to Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Executive Director Inge Kauer, the report “is not intended to name and shame companies, but instead to highlight strong practices and to provide a means for companies to benchmark their approach to nutrition against their peers and identify areas for improvement. The Index also…
The Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Eating Research program, has released a legal issue brief titled “It’s Not Just for Teens: Viral Marketing to Young Children.” Intended as a guide for state attorneys general and claiming that “[f]ood marketers are in the forefront of using viral marketing online,” the paper contends that this use of “viral marketing techniques to young children warrants careful scrutiny under state consumer protection laws.” The paper describes how (i) this marketing works, (ii) companies make money from the practice and (iii) the practice is deceptive. According to PHAI, “Viral marketing turns children into unwitting viral marketers promoting a company’s brand image and products to their friends. . . . Despite the sophistication of the technology they use, children today remain uniquely ‘unqualified by age or experience’ to evaluate viral marketing and firms use deceptive tactics to hide…
The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has published a study urging a broader definition of “child-directed” TV advertising than the one currently employed by the industry-backed Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). Jennifer Harris, et al., “Redefining ‘Child-Direct Advertising’ to Reduce Unhealthy Television Food Advertising,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, March 2013. According to the study, CFBAI covers TV advertising only “during programs for which children make up 35% or more of the viewing audience.” By comparison, Rudd Center Director of Marketing Initiatives Jennifer Harris and her colleagues have suggested that broadening the definition of child-directed advertising “to include programs with a child-audience share of 20% or higher and/or 100,000 or more child viewers would cover 70%-71% of food advertising seen by children but just one third of ads seen by adults.” To support this recommendation, the study’s authors used Nielsen data from all national TV programs aired…
