Food Marketing Influences Poor Nutrition Choices: Institute of Medicine Study

Food and beverage marketing to children under 12 leads them to ask for and eat more foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value, a report released yesterday by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has found. The committee preparing the report stopped short of saying that TV ads are a direct cause of the epidemic of obesity in children, but said that the connection is strong.

The committee called for government legislation if self-regulation should fail. At least one industry association, The Association of National Advertisers (ANA), said that legislation would be a violation of the First Amendment and that the industry have been proactive in dealing with the challenging issue of childhood obesity.

The report, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, found that significant changes are needed to “reshape children’s awareness of healthy dietary choices” and suggested that food and beverage companies as well as restaurants and the entertainment industry should direct resources to developing and marketing healthier foods to children. It said media and entertainment industries should incorporate storylines that promote healthy eating. The report said parents, health officials and consumer groups should play an active part in calling for an initiating change.

“Current food and beverage marketing practices put kids’ long-term health at risk,” said Committee Chair J. Michael McGinnis, senior scholar, Institute of Medicine. “If American’s children and youth are to develop eating habits that help them avoid early onset of diet-related chronic diseases, they have to reduce their intake of high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks, fast foods and sweetened drinks, which make up a high proportion of the products marketed to kids. And this is an ‘all hands on deck’ issue. Parents have a central role in the turnaround required, but so do the food, beverage and restaurant industries.”

The report called for an industry-wide rating and nutritional labeling system that details the nutritional quality of foods and beverages. It also called for the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) to expand its monitoring beyond advertising (TV and print) and Web sites to newer forms of marketing including the Internet, wireless and product placement. (In September, CARU announced that it had stepped up efforts to monitor and determine self-regulatory guidelines for new marketing tactics aimed at children such as paid product placement and advertising in electronic games.) The report said that popular cartoon characters should only be used to promote healthy products (See stories in PROMO September 2005 and October 2005).

Dan Jaffe, the executive VP for government relations at ANA, said that the industry has responded to the obesity challenge on a number of fronts including the introduction of 4,500 new low-fat, low-calorie and low-carb foods over the past few years. And, the group’s public service arm, The Ad Council, has executed public service announcements related to the issue, he said. He also cited CARU’s work in policing in the industry.

“The advertising community recognizes that childhood obesity is a serious national challenge,” Jaffe said in a statement. “We believe the marketplace is responding to the legitimate concerns about the health of our nation’s children.”

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a harsh critic of CARU, requested the report and secured $1 million in funding for its creation, Harkin’s office said. He applauded the study’s findings.

“This report proves that the onslaught of junk food marketing is endangering the health of our children,” Harkin said in a statement. We would like to think that SpongeBob SquarePants, Shrek, and the Disney Princesses are likable, kid-friendly characters; but they are being used to manipulate vulnerable children to make unhealthy choices. This must stop.”

The committee also called for government action to enhance nutritional standards, provide incentives and awards and public policies in promoting the marketing of healthier foods and beverages. It went so far as to say that if self-regulation with the industry fails, Congress should enact legislation to mandate shifting TV ads during children’s programming away from high-calorie, low-nutrient products— most ads promote— healthier foods and beverages. It said a long-term multi-platform healthy-eating campaign should be initiated by the government and funded by public funds and contributions from the food, beverage and restaurant industries.

“We were deeply disappointed by the IOM’s call for Congressional action to mandate a specific shift in the way companies allocate their ad spending,” ANA’s Jaffe said. “This is a radical and unconstitutional proposal that would have an impact far beyond food advertising. It sets a dangerous precedent that would allow the government, if it determines that certain types of speech have some adverse consequences, to dictate the substance of the speech the public hears. It not only is contrary to good policy, but most certainly would violate the First Amendment.”

In schools, the committee called for nutritional standards for all foods and beverages, including those sold in vending machines or for fundraising. School-based promotions should focus solely on healthy products and diets. The report said that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should designate an agency to monitor the nation’s progress in promoting healthy diets, with a report due within two years and a list of additional action items needed.

The committee said that the report is the most comprehensive review of the scientific evidence on the influence of food marketing on diets of children and youth.

An estimated $10 billion was spent last year by companies marketing foods, beverages and meals to U.S. children, the report said. It said that, while some companies have begun to change marketing practices and develop healthier foods for children, overall the industries spend the majority of their resources on products high in sugar, fat and salt and that lack essential nutrients.

“This landmark study comes as no surprise to me, and it will come at no surprise to the junk food industry,” Harkin said in a statement. The industry doesn’t spend $11 billion a year marketing junk food to kids in order to waste money. They spend $11 billion a year marketing junk food to kids because it works brilliantly.”

The committee admitted a shortcoming in the report, saying that most of its research focused on TV advertising and that future studies would incorporate research on other marketing tactics as well such as product placement, Internet ads and ads to cell phones. However, it did find that there was strong evidence that TV advertising influenced children— two to 11— what they ask for and eat, at least over the short term. The committee said that too few studies were available to determine the extent that marketing impacted older children’s—12 to 18—eating habits. The long-term effects of the marketing on dietary patterns was limited and less conclusive.

The ANA said that the IOM’s findings were contrary to other findings.

“Our analysis of Nielsen data demonstrated that food, beverage, and restaurant advertising on television directed to children declined 13% since 1993,” Jaffe said. “Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission found that advertising during children’s programming declined 34% since 1977. This data demonstrates that there are a multitude of factors behind childhood obesity, and singling out advertising will not solve the problem.”

The study was requested by Congress, in particular Sen. Harkin, and the House and Senate appropriations committees and sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.