Protecting Children From Harmful Food

Marketing
• Food marketing targeted to children almost exclusively promotes calorie-dense,
nutrient-poor foods and takes advantage of children's vulnerability to
persuasive messages.
• Much of this marketing occurs in nationwide media (eg, television, the
Internet), but companies also directly target children in their own communities
through the use of billboards and through local environments such as stores,
restaurants, and schools.
• Companies also spend considerable sums to reach children directly in their local
communities and almost anywhere children spend their time. These locally
based food marketing practices include product packaging, signs, and
promotions in stores that appeal specifically to children marketing
Television food advertising
increases consumption of any
available snack foods during and
immediately after exposure, and
exposure to commercial television is
associated with increased overall
calorie consumption, higher body
mass index, and reduced fruit and
vegetable consumption 5 years later
Food companies expend these
prolific marketing efforts almost
exclusively to promote foods that
children should consume only
occasionally and in limited
quantities. On television, 98% of
food advertisements watched by
children promote products high in
fat, sugar, or sodium.
Food industry promotes false nutritional
information
• “The food industry funds initiatives that it thinks will further the sale
of its products,” says Dr. Yoni Freedhoff
• For decades, food companies have paid doctors and academic
authorities to conduct research and promote nutritional information.
Funded research remains one of the food industry’s most powerful
marketing tactics. When a doctor or medical journal publicizes
nutritional information, it does not feel like advertising. Privately
funded research has the unique skill of turning marketing into facts.
Nutritional facts promoted by the food
industry
• Children who eat candy tend to have a healthier body weight than
those who do not.
• All foods supply calories and there is no difference between the
calories that come from sugar or steak or grapefruit or ice cream.
• Look for the Heart and Stroke Health Check Logo to ensure you’re
making healthy choices for you and your family.
• Exercise is to blame for obesity, not bad diets.
• These are just some of the nutritional facts promoted by the food
industry.
• At best, these industry-funded studies contribute to a murky sea of
nutritional advice. In the never-ending quest to eat healthy, you may
have at one point wondered if all calories are, in fact, created equal.
How important is exercise in weight management?
• For these questions, we have the food industry to thank