“What a person does not learn at 6, he is unlikely to learn at 60″. So goes an aphorism in my native tongue. So is it any surprise that most of the bad eating habits we see in adults are simply an extension of those they inculcated as youngsters?
Given the rising incidence of childhood obesity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was asked by Congress in 2004 to examine one potential cause — foods marketed directly to children. The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) reports on the results of this study, “Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity”, conducted by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
All quotes below are taken from the results published by the NEJM:
Food marketing, the IOM says, intentionally targets children who are too young to distinguish advertising from truth and induces them to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient (but highly profitable) “junk” foods.
With more and more children spending their own money for food with minimal parental intervention, the food industry has capitalised massively on this demographic. Food product placements now occur in not only the recognized media like tv-ads and roadside banners, but also in stealthy and the most unlikely of places like songs and educational materials.
All aim to teach children to recognize brands and pester their parents to buy them. The IOM notes that by two years of age, most children can recognize products in supermarkets and ask for them by name. But the most insidious purpose of marketing is to persuade children to eat foods made “just for them” — not what adults are eating. Some campaigns aim to convince children that they know more about what they are “supposed to” eat than their parents do.
The study concludes by saying that if the companies do not voluntarily cut back on the extensive marketing of junk food to children, then Congress will need to step in and enact laws to enforce them. Many other countries already have such protective laws in place.
Australia, for example, bans food advertisements meant for children younger than 14 years of age; the Netherlands bans advertisements for sweets to those younger than 12; and Sweden bans the use of cartoon characters to promote foods to children younger than 12.
While it is almost impossible to completely end this kind of marketing, parents can set an example by being good role models and setting a standard for healthful eating at home.
Here are some easy ways to get started:
- Eat together - nothing enforces discipline like setting a time for breakfast or dinner and sticking to it. With parents around to monitor food, it is less likely that portions will go out of control or junk food is consumed.
- Keep junk hard to reach - chips, cookie jars, sugary cereals, doughnuts … how will your kids eat them if they cannot find them easily? Outside the house, it is already becoming harder for easy access to these as schools are now starting to remove soda and junk food vending machine .
- Set rules for eating out - making it a treat rather than something that happens often will not only reduce the consumption of junk but will also allow parents to manage ingredients and portions.
- Set rules for eating in too - a vegetable with every meal (green if possible!) and a fruit after.
- Most important of all - set the example: if you are eating jalapeno poppers for dinner, don’t expect your kids to finish the broccoli and spinach.
Together we can reduce the incidence of childhood obesity - we just need to educate ourselves and understand children-targeted-marketing for what it is really is: another way for food companies to increase profits at the expense of our health.
Read the full report from the New England Journal of Medicine. (It comes with a free scary graph).
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