Parents need all the help they can to provide a healthy, happy future for their children. What they don’t need are aggressive marketers undermining them by pushing unhealthy drinks, snacks and meals on their kids.
But that’s exactly what’s happening, and it’s taking a toll on our nation’s health. Fortunately, there’s a new opportunity for us to make it better.
PreventObesity.net is taking part in an effort to support of new government principles that seek to curb aggressive food marketing of unhealthy goods to our nation’s children.
A coalition of federal agencies, led by the Federal Trade Commission, recently unveiled principles that would provide guidelines to food marketers when advertising to kids, on media channels ranging from television and radio to social media and even online gaming. According to the principles, marketers could only advertise products to children that meet strict nutrition standards.
Although the principles are completely voluntary — the FTC is banking that public pressure will force the companies to comply by the standards — food marketers already have promised to put up a fight. That is why we are asking the PreventObesity.net network to write to the FTC in support of the proposed principles by a July 14 deadline.
Click here to tell the FTC and other federal agencies to implement the principles.
Food marketers spend billions of dollars every year marketing their unhealthy drinks, snacks and meals to kids. The fast food industry alone spent $4.2 billion in 2009 on marketing. In 2008, the Coca-Cola Company spent $752 million on advertising, while rival PepsiCo burned through $1.3 billion in cash.
As a result, fast food, soda and other companies that dish out fatty, sugary or otherwise unhealthy products are racking in the bucks. Meanwhile, more than 23 million children and teenagers are classified as overweight or obese in the United States, putting them at risk for major and even life threatening diseases and conditions.
The proposed principles are a solid step toward reversing this dangerous epidemic. We hope you will join us in supporting them.