A recent study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and National Institutes of Health has allegedly concluded that sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) “are primarily responsible for the higher caloric intakes” of children who consume them. Kevin Mathias, et al., “Foods and Beverages Associated with Higher Intake of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, April 2013. Using data from 13,421 children enrolled in the What We Eat In America, NHANES 2003-2010 surveys, researchers with the University of North Carolina Department of Nutrition apparently determined “the contribution of SSBs to higher caloric intakes” by comparing the total non-SSB caloric intake of both SSB consumers and nonconsumers. The results purportedly showed that for children ages 2 to 11, “total non-SSB intakes did not differ between nonconsumers and SSB consumers at any level of SSB consumption, indicating that SSBs were primarily responsible for the higher caloric intake among SSB consumers.” The authors also…
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The Legislature of Suffolk County, New York, has adopted new measures (1920-2012, 1085-2013 and 1086-2013) designed to curtail the marketing of energy drinks to minors within county limits. Introduced by William Spencer (D-Centerport), the three new laws will (i) prohibit companies from providing free energy drink samples and coupons to individuals younger than age 18; (ii) ban the sale and distribution of these products to minors in county parks; and (iii) establish a “Truth About Stimulant Drinks” public education campaign “to increase awareness of side effects associated with energy drink consumption.” The legislation also specifies civil penalties between $500 and $1,000 per violation of the new rules. “Far too many people are unaware of the effects excessive caffeine consumption can have on the body,” Spencer told reporters. “Excessive consumption of caffeine can aggravate pre-existing conditions and contribute to a variety of health problems. My plan levels the playing field and…
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 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…
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…
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF’s) Healthy Eating Research (HER) panel has released a set of age-based “Recommendations for Healthier Beverages” that urge government buildings, workplaces and other public venues to increase the availability of water and unflavored milk as replacements for high-calorie beverages. Billed as “an advisory panel of prominent researchers, nutritionists and policy experts,” HER evidently arrived at its findings after reviewing “current beverage standards, recommendations, and guidelines from scientific bodies, national organizations, public health organizations, and the beverage industry.” HER has generally recommended that “water should be available and promoted in all settings where beverages are offered” and endorsed unflavored, low-fat and nonfat milk in age-appropriate portions as a way for children to get adequate amounts of calcium, vitamin D, potassium, and other nutrients. The panel would also permit the consumption of small amounts of 100 percent fruit juice—ranging from 0 to-4-ounce portions for preschool children and 0-to-8-ounce…
A non-profit focusing on childhood obesity has issued its first annual progress report on private sector commitments to address the issue. According to the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), nearly 3 million children “got moving in 2012,” more than 8,000 “new physical activity opportunities became available for kids in 2012,” dozens of new or renovated grocery stores opened in or near “food deserts” making healthier food available to more than half-a-million “low-access individuals,” and “$18 million has been spent in the last 18 months in financing for new retail channels and innovative food distribution programs.” See PHA Press Release, March 7, 2013.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has issued a pre-publication summary of its workshop “New Challenges and Opportunities for Change in Food Marketing to Children and Youth.” Conducted by IOM’s Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention, the November 5, 2012, workshop featured “presentations and discussion on contemporary trends in marketing of foods and beverages to children and youth and the implications of those trends for obesity prevention.” According to IOM, “[t]he childhood obesity epidemic is an urgent public health problem, and it will continue to take a substantial toll on the health of Americans. The most recent data show that almost a third of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or obese.”
A recent article published in the Journal of Public Policy has recommended “a national regulatory system prohibiting commercial marketing of foods and beverages to children” as part of an effort to curb rising obesity rates in Canada. Kim Raine, et al., “Restricting marketing to children: Consensus on policy interventions to address obesity,” Journal of Public Policy, February 2013. Building on a consensus conference held in April 2011 by the Alberta Policy Coalition for Chronic Disease Prevention, the article’s authors lay out a policy framework for evaluating “the political environment, evidence, issues, and challenges of placing restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages.” In particular, they describe the industry-sponsored Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative as “insufficient,” noting that in addition to TV advertising, marketers have increasingly adopted new media—“the Internet, adver-gaming, mobile messaging, and viral marketing”—that do not fall under current standards. As a result, the article urges…
