U.S. Recommends Food Companies Stop Marketing Unhealthy Foods to Children


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May 20, 2010 (NIH)

The Obama administration is urging food companies to further limit marketing of unhealthy foods to children as part of a broader fight against childhood obesity.

The recommendation is part of a 120-page report released recently by the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which asserts that companies' previous efforts to curb marketing of sugary and fatty foods have shown minimal results. During the past five years, some food manufacturers have stopped promoting certain unhealthy products to children via television, radio, and print advertisements.

The report says food companies should extend their current voluntary regulations to include all forms of marketing to children, and food retailers should steer clear of in-store marketing that promotes unhealthy products to children. In addition, media and entertainment companies should limit the licensing of their popular characters to food and beverage products that are healthy.

If these measures don't work, the report recommends the Federal Communications Commission consider stronger regulations by "revisiting and modernizing rules on commercial time during children's programming."