IOM Issues Report on Food and Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies component of the National Academy of Science, which was created by the federal government to advise on scientific and technological matters, has published Food and Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? to culminate a study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at Congress’ request.
The report, which claims to be the “most com­prehensive review to date of the scientific evidence on the influence of food marketing on diets and diet-related health of children and youth,” finds that “current food and beverage marketing practices put child­ren’s long-term health at risk” and it pro­vides recommendations for food and beverage companies, the media, government, parents, and schools to develop “marketing and adver­tising strategies that promote healthier foods, beverages, and meal options.” IOM’s conclusions and recommen­dations likely will influence ongoing debate about children’s advertising and “obesity epidemic,” and may well factor into legal and regulatory mandates.
One particularly notable aspect of the report is IOM’s recommendation to the effect that, if voluntary efforts related to advertising during children’s TV programming are unsuccessful in shifting emphasis away from high-calorie and low-nutrient foods and toward healthful foods and beverages, Congress should enact legislation that requires the shift for both broadcasters and cable. The report’s departure point is what it describes as a dramatic rise in the number of U.S. children and youth who are obese or have type 2 diabetes, due in part, it claims to the fact that children depart substantially from recommended dietary patterns. This in­cludes consuming excessive calories and exceeding recommended intakes of fat, saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium. IOM cites commercial and media environments as a key factor (among others, such as genetics and biology, culture and values, economic status, and physical/social environment).
To address these concerns, IOM offers a variety of recommendations with respect to food and beverage production and promotion, marketing stan­dards, media/entertainment practices, parental efforts, schools, public policy initiatives and future research and monitoring, including:
- Food and beverage companies should work with government, scientific, public health, and consumer groups to develop and implement labels and advertising for an empirically validated industry-wide rating system and graphic representation that is appealing to children and youth to convey the nutritional quality of foods and beverages marketed to them and their families.
- The food, beverage, restaurant, and marketing industries should work with government, scientific, public health, and consumer groups to establish and enforce standards for marketing to children by working through the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) to revise, expand, apply, enforce, and evaluate industry self-regulatory guidelines; by assuring licensed characters are used only for promotion of foods and beverages that support healthful diets; and fostering cooperation between CARU and the FTC in evaluating and enforcing the effectiveness of expanded self-regulatory guidelines.
- If voluntary efforts related to advertising during children’s TV programming are unsuccessful in shifting emphasis away from high-calorie and low-nutrient foods and beverages to advertising of healthful foods and beverages, Congress should enact legislation mandating the shift on both broadcast and cable TV.
- Federal research, in particular that conducted by HHS (including NIH, the CDC and the FDA), as well as by the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the FTC, should expanded to explore how market­ing influences children’s attitudes and behaviors, with particular attention paid to newer promotion techniques and venues, healthier foods and beverages and portion sizes, product availability, and the impact of TV advertising.
The Secretary of HHS, in consultation with other cabinet officers and agency heads, including the Departments of Agriculture and Education as well as the FTC and FCC, should designate a responsible agency to formally monitor and report regularly on the progress of IOM’s recommendations, and within two years, the Secretary of HHS should report to Congress on the progress and on additional actions necessary to accelerate progress.
