A New England Journal of Medicine study published this month indicated that obesity was likely to wipe out 40 years of health improvements from combating cigarette smoking. Under one scenario of obesity and smoking trends, by 2020 the future life expectancy of a typical 18-year-old would be shortened 8 months, according to the report.
“We found that in a horse race between obesity and smoking, obesity won, in a bad way,” said Susan Stewart, an author of the study and a researcher at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
This month’s good news? Two Congresswomen, Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio and Kay Granger of Texas, have introduced a resolution in the House to designate September as Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. And one poll out last week indicated that childhood obesity was the “food-related story” of the decade. Some people apparently recognize the scope of the problem, but several public interest groups believe that the food and beverage industry continues to cover their eyes and ears about their contribution to the epidemic of childhood obesity..
An analysis by Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) of food ads on Nickelodeon, the popular children’s network, revealed that 80% of these ads promoted food of poor nutritional quality. While this is down from 90% in 2005, the results were disappointing considering that between the 2005 and 2009, the food industry instituted a self-regulatory program through the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI).
CSPI also took a closer look at the practices of the food companies that participate in the CFBAI self-regulatory program. They found that of the 452 foods and beverages that companies say are acceptable to market to children, that 267 (or nearly 60 percent) do not meet CSPI’s recommended nutrition standards for food marketing to children. The list includes: General Mills’ Cookie Crisp and Reese’s Puffs cereals, Kellogg Apple Jacks and Cocoa Krispies cereals, Kellogg Rice Krispies Treats, Campbell’s Goldfish crackers and SpaghettiOs, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and many Unilever Popsicles.
So it came as no surprise when a University of Arizona study commissioned by Children Now, a California-based public policy group that advocates for children concluded that the CFBAI self-regulatory initiative had failed. The study’s key finding is that, despite industry self-regulation, nearly three out of four, 72.5 percent, of the foods advertised on television to children are for products in the poorest nutritional category (down from 84% in 2005). Known as “Whoa” foods, these products should be consumed only on special occasions, such as birthdays, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Advertising for truly healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits, known as “Go” foods, is virtually invisible. Commercials for these foods account for only one percent of all food advertising to children.
The day after this University of Arizona report was issued, a federal working group convened by the Federal Trade Commission proposed that the FTC begin to regulate marketing of unhealthful foods and beverages to children, largely due to the apparent failure of industry self-regulation. This proposal comes on the backdrop of concerns expressed by public health advocates and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz that the food industry isn’t doing enough to limit the marketing of unhealthy foods to children. Food and beverage companies spend $1.6 billion annually on ads aimed at children, according to an FTC report on food marketing and obesity from 2008. The FTC plans to update that report in 2010, and Leibowitz said he plans to send subpoenas to 44 food and beverage companies soon to get their marketing data. The FTC sent similar subpoenas to companies in 2007. Not much good happened then and we suspect not much good will happen along these lines in the next few years.
Giving credit where credit is due, we did see some progress on the product side, if not with regard to marketing. General Mills announced it would reduce the sugar content in 10 of its products to less than 11 grams per serving, following up on product modifications begun two years ago. Unfortunately, 11 grams of sugar per serving, still makes for a lot of sugar. Among the nutritional all stars in cereals and kid-appeal, Kix, for example, only has 3g of sugar per serving. In view of a Consumer Reports study that showed that children usually serve themselves 50-65% more than the recommended serving, cereals with 11 grams of sugar will yield more sugar for breakfast than a glazed doughnut.
A recent study published by Yale’s Rudd Center, which listed the 10 least healthy cereals, found that General Mills made six of the cereals on the list. It also found that the cereal giant markets to children more than any other cereal maker, the news service reported. The study also found that children eat twice as much of the highly sweetened cereals as low-sugar cereals. This means that General Mills and most other producers of foods marketed to young people continue to contribute substantially to the cornucopia of junk food that threatens the health of the present and next generation.
Tags: Weight Loss