On March 11, the U.S. government announced it will not ban or limit junk food marketing to children. Deborah Majoras, chairwoman of Federal Trade Commission, said there will be workshops to help junk food companies and advertisers develop guidelines to promote healthy eating and minimize obesity. This is a wrong decision because setting guidelines alone will not be effective without regulation.
The current obesity rate in the United States is alarming-around two-thirds of children in the country are obese. A study by Research Triangle Institute International and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that $75 billion was spent in healthcare relating to obesity, like heart problems and diabetes, in 2003 alone.
Junk food ads targeting children are blamed for our unhealthy next generation. Studies conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest demonstrate that junk food ads encourage children to consume more junk food. To combat the problem, there must be limits to junk food advertising and marketing to children and schools to build a healthier nation.
Junk food marketing to children has gone uncontrolled as networks that feature children's programming are overwhelmed with junk food advertising and product placements in cartoons. Even worse, many food companies have deals with schools to place soda vending machines and fast food kiosks, like McDonald's or Burger King, in school lunch rooms.
Kids can hardly get away from junk food with these encompassing marketing strategies, so there must be regulations. Kraft Food proposed late last year to curb advertising to children under 12. But the other junk food companies were distressed and strongly opposed the proposal. So the government should step in and request all junk food industries to either self-regulate or proceed with legislation to end the controversy.
The fight to regulate tobacco industry ads in the late 1960s already taught us a lesson: simply warning people of the health risk is not enough. There consistently have been fewer smokers since tobacco advertising on television was banned in 1968. The same thought process should be applied here.
Regulation is especially necessary when the target is children because children are not critical consumers yet and do not know the intention of the ads. Studies show that children between age six and 11 cannot tell the difference between ads and television programs, so they are not aware that they are deliberately targeted. They will easily think these foods are desirable because they are on the television. Therefore, there should be limits on these ads to protect children from wrong understandings. For example, rules can be set so that junk food ads can only be shown at times when parents are more likely to watch TV with kids. There can also be rules that these ads must contain warnings about obesity and that these snacks should not be consumed every day.
The food industry may argue that promoting healthy eating will work as long as parents are aware and so regulation is not necessary. But this is hardly possible, as junk food marketing strategies have now penetrated schools. The availability of junk food like McDonald's and Burger King at schools simply makes it hard for parents to control what their children will eat in school. To make the effort complete, the regulation against junk food marketing must include schools as well.
For sure, regulation must also couple with campaigns to promote children to do more exercise to combat obesity. There should also be more understandable and conspicuous nutrition labels on the packaging of junk foods to increase awareness.
opinion@dailycardinal.com.
