Three U.S. agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Centers for Disease Control are looking to ban junk food marketing targeted to children.
The proposal is aimed at foods with more than 1 gram of saturated fat or more than half a gram of trans fat per serving, 13 grams of added sugar, or 200 milligrams of sodium.
A spokesperson for the group says U.S. government agencies need to do a better job regulating marketing seen by children, and the proposed ban would simply “supervise” food producers.
Some food producers have already reworked their products to take health concerns into account, such as Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs, which both started to reduce the amount of sugar in foods advertised to children.
But not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. The Association of National Advertisers insists advertisers are not responsible for the increasing number of overweight and obese children. So marketers feel as if they are being punished and being censored.
Via Reuters.
Image credit: Integral Elementary
Obese children certainly aren’t missing any meals, which helps explain why childhood obesity rates are so high worldwide.
Too many people don’t get enough exercise. Adults might be a lost cause, but it’s too soon to give up on kids.
