At the Nov. 21 Annenberg Research Seminar, Ellen Wartella, the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Communication at Northwestern University, discussed childhood obesity, how it is influenced by the media, and what is being done to alleviate it. Wartella's presentation, “Food Marketing and the Childhood Obesity Crisis,” demonstrated the way in which "obesity is not a personal problem but a societal problem." "Over the past 30 years, the rate of obesity has doubled in 2- to 5-year olds," adding that in 2010, 43 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Beyond the inherent negative social, emotional and mental health effects, obesity leads to a multitude of health issues including: hypertension, impaired balance, orthopedic problems, type 2 diabetes, and an early onset of type 1 diabetes. These effects coupled with the rise of obesity rates is causing us to see "the first generation of children with a shorter life expectancy than their parents," she said. Furthermore, she said the health and fiscal costs of obesity are so high, they outrank smoking and drinking combined. She said food marketing has influenced a negative change in children's eating patterns over the past few decades. The changes include: eating higher than the recommended amounts of sugar, sodium and saturated fats, eating inadequate amounts of whole grains, fruits, milk, vegetables, potassium, fiber, magnesium and vitamins and consuming higher amounts of calories, carbs, sweet beverages and fast foods. She cited evidence showing that TV advertising has led to this because it has a strong influence on the food and beverage preferences, purchase requests and consumption in 2- to 11-year olds. In response, the Children's Advertising Food and Beverage Initiative has been working to bring about changes in the types of food marketed to children since 2006. One of the initial successes of the initiative influenced companies such as Coca Cola, Hershey's, Mars and Nestle's Wonka to eliminate advertising that targets children under 12. Also, the initiative influenced 13 other companies to advertise only foods that meet the FDA's standard definition of healthy. However, other issues that fuel the obesity crisis have yet to be resolved. The FDA and USDA is working to implement a new packaging and labeling system that will better inform consumers of healthy food options. "The symbol systems on packaged foods are confusing," said Wartella, adding that there is a need to standardize the front label food guidance system. The new system will change the front label that will display:
- A simple, standard symbol indicating a "healthy" product.
- Calories on a 0-3 point system.
- Check marks indicating whether sugar, saturated fat, and salt levels are healthy.
This labeling will be in a consistent location on all grocery products and will integrate with the nutritional facts panel, Wartella said. Furthermore, the new system will impose standards companies must meet to market their foods to children under the age of 18. The requirements are: by 2016, foods marketed to children must provide a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet (as defined by the FDA) as well as to minimize ingredients with a negative impact on health. Wartella said that there is significant push-back from companies who disagree with these standards, and the decision to implement these requirements has not yet been passed by Congress.
