Ads Linked to Childhood Obesity

WASHINGTON -- Billions of dollars worth of advertising for candy and sugary foods is the primary mechanism through which the media contributes to childhood obesity, a pair of new studies asserts, reported the Associated Press.

"The number of ads children see on TV has doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 since the 1970s, and the majority of ads targeted to kids are for candy, cereal and fast food," the Kaiser Family Foundation said in a study released earlier this week.

It reported that 15.3 percent of children aged six to 11 were listed as overweight in 1999-2000, compared to 4.2 percent in 1963-1970.

The American Psychological Association (APA) on Monday called for the government to restrict ads aimed at children under 8, according to the AP.

Unlike the Psychological Association, the Kaiser foundation did not endorse any specific action, saying many options are available to policy-makers, food companies, the media and parents.

Dr. Susan Linn, a Harvard psychologist who was a co-author of the APA report, said actions "could include specific restrictions on advertising junk food or toys that promote violence or precocious sexuality."

"Given the developmental vulnerabilities young children have to advertising, however, a prohibition on all marketing aimed at children is the only truly effective solution," said Linn.

The American Advertising Federation reserved comment until officials had seen the reports, according to the AP.
Dale Kunkel of the University of California, Santa Barbara, a co-author of the Psychological Association report, said its study "shows young children are uniquely vulnerable to commercial persuasion."

"The most predominant products marketed to children are sugared cereals, candies, sweets, sodas and snack foods," he told the news source.

The basic concept is understanding persuasive intent, and children aged 8 and younger generally do not grasp that intent, Kunkel explained. Older children and adults recognize the intent to sell and know advertising can exaggerate, though they may not apply that knowledge in every case, he said.

The Psychologists estimated that advertisers spend more than $12 billion per year on advertising messages aimed at young people, according to the AP.