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FESTIVAL NEWS
The Fat Truth on Food Marketing
Have you seen Laugh at the Fat Kid? This portrait of a young boy caught in a cycle of overeating is all too familiar to millions of young Americans. While there are many factors that can be attributed to the obesity epidemic, one reversible and highly contentious cause is the marketing of junk food to children. Aisles of gracery stores are lined with boxes bearing images of SpongBob SquarePants, Shrek and other highly recongnizable figures. Unfortunately, these attention grabbing and money-making characters are endorsing food that is amongst the least healthy on the shelves: high sugar, high fat, and little nutrient. Some countries have banned advertising food products to children completely but in the last 10 years US spending on food marketing to kids has increased from $7 billion to $15 billion. According to Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, Americans live in a "toxic food environment." Taking on the food marketing machine, The Center for Science in the Public Interest just published "Guidelines for Responsible Food Marketing to Children." These guidelines call for a reduction in the amount and kind of food marketing to which children can be exposed. Read more on this story from the New York Times article, "It'd Be Easier if SpongeBob Were Hawking Broccoli"Published on January 12, 2005
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