December 6, 2005 -- IOM Reports on Food Marketing to Children

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences today took on the giants of the food processing and marketing industries in a report showing that the companies increasingly target their products and sales pitches to children, with many or most of the products heavily advertised to children high in calories and low in nutrition. Parents and schools also come in for a share of the blame for deficiencies in children’s diets in the report, but the primary focus is on the foods being marketed to children in a variety of formats, including product tie-ins in movies, television, video games, and on the Internet. The report calls for concerted action by government and the private sector to correct advertisements that tempt children to eat products high in sugar and fats, a diet the report predicts will lead to high rates of adult illness. “Turning around the current trends will require broad private and public leadership,” the report says, “---including the full participation of the food, beverage, and restaurant industries, food retailers, trade associations, advertising and marketing industry, entertainment industry, and the media---in cooperation with parents, schools, and government agencies.” The report, “Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?” will be available later on the National Academy website at www.iom.edu.