Policy forum on obesity to review how industry markets to under-13 group

Dr. David McKeown, Toronto's medical officer of health, is calling on Canadian politicians to address the country's growing obesity rate by banning junk food advertising to children under 13.

In an interview yesterday, Dr. McKeown said it's important to exert influence on what children are eating because dietary patterns established early in life tend to persist.

"Most of the food and beverages advertised heavily to children are poor in nutrients and high in calories," he said.

"It's not the kind of food that children should be eating to lay the foundation for health both in childhood and adulthood."

Last week, acting on a recommendation by Dr. McKeown, the Toronto Board of Health unanimously adopted a motion that urges federal and provincial governments to impose a ban on food and beverage advertising aimed at children.

This week, Dr. McKeown will take part in a two-day Ottawa policy forum on obesity and the impact of marketing on children.

The forum, sponsored by the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada, will examine evidence for and against new advertising restrictions.

A panel of Canadians will listen to the arguments and draft a "consensus policy statement" on the issue.

Tomorrow, Dr. McKeown is to urge the panel not to rely on industry self-regulation -- a practice that he believes allows food companies to continue to market unhealthy products to children.

"The rules don't mean that the food being advertised is, in fact, healthy and the basis for a healthy diet for a child," he said. "It just means that it is somewhat less harmful than their less healthy choices."

In provinces outside Quebec, he said, cardboard cereal boxes could be marketed as a "healthy" food choice for children.

"The standards are based on limiting direct harm rather than advertising food that would actually be healthy for children to eat," he charged.

Quebec is now the only province with a ban on children's advertising.

Recently, however, 16 of Canada's largest candy, fast-food and soft-drink companies pledged either not to advertise directly to children under 12, or to market only their healthier products to them.

[ from: http://www.canada.com/globaltv/nati...9-c3c8efbc0422]

you know, the kids under 13 really arent the ones buying this stuff.

Maybe we should talk to the parents???

Parents are the one who whip out the bank card at the check out line, but it's often the kids demanding the latest sugar crap cereal they saw advertised on TV. True parents can be parents and say no, but that's not always easy or painless

I agree, we had a lot of this same sort of "parents vs legislation" argument on the "Banning Happy Meals" thread. Yes, it's ultimately up to the parents, but we as a society have a right to tell advertisers to stop trying to talk directly to our children. We should have done this decades ago; it's about time we finally started acting in the interests of our children rather than letting unscrupulous advertisers exploit them.

Well said. If it was up to me, I'd ban all advertising aimed at children period. Children don't have the life skills required to handle the early brain washing aimed at turning them into greedy little consumers. If you want to sell your toys try selling it to the parent instead, who hopefully will know better.

I'm all for banning these commercials.

Kids are fully capable of buying candy with their own money. They are also fully capable of asking their parents to buy it for them.

I take no position on the banning of commercials.

But it occurs to me, as a child I was fed just as many advertisements in school for the food pyramid as I was when I got home and saw McDonalds commercials. Neither one was any good for my health.

Take one out and leave the other? Feels a bit lopsided.

Maybe it's not a perfect solution, but it's a start. The fewer candy commercials, the better.


Yay!!! I love eating cardboard boxes - don't you?

If you really want to act in your children's best interest, just get rid of the TV.

Good point; it really should be extended to all advertising, period.