 |
FREE Natural Health Newsletter
Receive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts.
Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews.
Join over 1.2 million monthly readers.
|
 |
Products Related to This Article*• Boku Superfood
High-potency superfood powder
for preventing numerous diseases
• Living Fuel SuperBerry Ultimate
Delicious superfood meal powder
for disease prevention, antioxidant boost
• Appetite for Profit (free download)
Free download summary of this top book
for discovering the truth about food companies
* Recommended by the Health Ranger.
See more recommendations on right →
|
|
(NaturalNews) Many of the television commercials seen by teenagers are for junk food products. According to research released this week by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, this may be a major reason obesity rates continue to rise among 12-17 year-olds. The studies examined by researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago and University of Michigan concluded that 26% of TV ads seen by teens were for food products. The vast majority of these products contain high amounts of fat, sugar and sodium.
The groups most impacted by junk food ads are low-income and minority teens. With higher percentages of fast food restaurants in urban communities and race specific junk food marketing campaigns, it is obvious why teens in these groups are experiencing skyrocketing obesity rates.
To make matters worse, poorer and nonwhite neighborhoods also have fewer fruit and vegetable markets, bakeries, specialty stores, and natural food stores. In the Detroit metropolitan area the poorest African American neighborhoods are an average of 1.1 miles further from the nearest supermarket than are impoverished white neighborhoods, according to a 2005 study by the Institute of Medicine.
Teens also have few healthy choices at school. According to the research, many middle schools and high schools offer more unhealthy foods than nutritious foods. Many people believe schools carry a substantial burden of responsibility -- just behind parents and individuals -- when it comes to addressing childhood obesity.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves twenty-nine million school children every day and costs American taxpayers more than $7 billion a year to provide "nutritionally balanced" meals. Many students, however, fill up on items such as soft drinks, chips, and cookies, which are high in added sugars, fats, calories, and sodium, but low in nutrition. Such "junk foods" sold in vending machines, cafeteria a la carte lines, and school stores are known as "competitive foods" because they compete with federally funded meals.
In the article “Soft Drink Pouring Rights,” New York University Professor and renowned author Marion Nestle stated the following:
Healthy People 2010 objectives call for meals and snacks served in schools to contribute to overall diets that meet federal dietary guidelines. Sales in schools of foods and drinks high in calories and low in nutrients undermine this health objective, as well as participation in the more nutritious, federally sponsored, school lunch programs. Competitive foods also undermine nutrition information taught in the classroom. Lucrative contracts between school districts and soft drink companies for exclusive rights to sell one brand are the latest development in the increasing commercialization of school food. These contracts, intended to elicit brand loyalty among young children who have a lifetime of purchases ahead of them, are especially questionable because they place schools in the position of “pushing” soft drink consumption. “Pouring rights” contracts deserve attention from public health professionals concerned about the nutritional quality of children's diets.
As of March 2007, federal efforts to establish consistent nationwide nutrition standards for all competitive foods and beverages sold in schools was embodied in the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2007. First introduced in both houses in May 2006, the bill was reintroduced in the 110th Congress and has continued to enjoy bipartisan support from numerous co-sponsors.
In May 2006, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services released a report recommending concrete steps that industry can take to change their marketing and other practices to make progress against childhood obesity.
Among the agencies recommendations are that food companies:
· Intensify their efforts to create new products and reformulate existing products to make them lower in calories, more nutritious, more appealing to children, and more convenient to prepare and eat;
· Review and revise their marketing practices with the goal of improving the overall nutritional profile of the foods marketed to children, for example, by adopting minimum nutritional standards for the foods they market to children, or by otherwise shifting emphasis to lower-calorie, more nutritious products;
· Review and revise their policies to improve the overall nutritional profile of the products they market and sell in schools.
In focusing on racial and ethnic populations in which childhood obesity is more prevalent, the agencies recommended that:
· Food companies make a concerted effort to include, as part of their marketing of more nutritious, lower-calorie foods, promotions that are tailored to these communities; and
· Food companies, the media, and entertainment companies tailor their outreach efforts to promote better nutrition and fitness to these populations.
In 1983, food marketers spent $100 million on television advertising to kids. Today, they pour roughly 150 times that amount into a variety of mediums that seek to infiltrate every corner of children’s worlds. The average American child today is exposed to an estimated 40,000 television commercials a year — over 100 per day. Since 1980, childhood obesity rates have tripled among adolescents.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-9-25-teen-obesity_N.htm
http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?56+Duke+L.+J.+1491
http://www.newdream.org/kids/facts.php
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/05/childhoodobesity.shtm
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1308570
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2006/TheNeglectedLinkFoodMarketingandChildhoodObesityinPoorNeighborhoods.aspx
Boost this article on YahooBuzz! Click "BuzzUp!"
About the authorJohn is an experienced professional in the field of wellness. Along with a BS degree in Exercise Science & Health Promotion, the author also has a BA in Journalism and is in progress on a MA in Health Studies. Among the author's many forthcoming projects are an independent wellness consulting business and a health-related website, along with many articles and books.
 Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter
|
 |
Why green-lipped mussel oil makes krill oil obsoleteFind out which omega-3 supplement the Health Ranger is now strongly recommending for inflammation, brain support and more.
Click here to find out more
'The most potent supplement I've ever experienced for easing inflammation.' - the Health Ranger
|
How to protect yourself from financial loss when the dollar collapsesThis eight-CD audio seminar was recorded LIVE by the Health Ranger in October. It reveals everything you need to know to survive the coming economic turmoil.
Click here to protect yourself now
"Guaranteed to deliver the most powerful financial protection advice you've ever seen or your money back!" - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
|
Recommended Products Related to This Article*:Boku Superfood
High-potency superfood powder
for preventing numerous diseases
Living Fuel SuperBerry Ultimate
Delicious superfood meal powder
for disease prevention, antioxidant boost
Appetite for Profit (free download)
Free download summary of this top book
for discovering the truth about food companies
Vitamineral Green from Healthforce
Nutrient-dense superfood powder
for disease prevention, body alkalizing & more
Better Than Roasted - Macadamia Nuts☯
The most delicious raw nut spread ever
for heart health, circulatory health
Fucoxanthin with PinnoThin
Natural appetite suppressant
for obesity, overweight, overeating
How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days☯
Health Ranger guide to reversing diabetes
for reversing type-2 diabetes
Spirulina Pacifica
Pure, pristine spirulina superfood
for cancer prevention, alkalizing, immune func
Additional Products of Interest to AllBreville Juice Fountain Elite 800JEXL☯
Simply the best juicer in the world
for fast, easy juicing
Paraliminal Audio Courses☯
Powerful mind-enhancing audio therapy
for reprogramming your mind for a new future
Preparedness Tools Natural News Bundle☯
For preparedness and safety: 60% off
for preparing for natural disasters
Katadyn Exstream XR Water Purifier☯
#1 personal water purifier
for clean, pristine water in seconds
Healing Cancer From the Inside Out (DVD)
Amazing, eye-opening cancer documentary
for anyone wanting to know the truth on cancer
Zeitgeist: Addendum - Must-See Movie
A shocking documentary about money
for people who wan to know the real truth
The Genie In Your Genes by Dawson Church
A free, downloadable summary of this book
for learning about the biology of intention
The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
A free download of Biology of Belief
for learning about the mind-biology connection
The Weiss Method for Heart Disease☯
How to reverse heart disease naturally
for heart disease, high cholesterol
Hair Soap
A pure, simple and chemical-free shampoo
for washing hair without chemicals
Exposed! The Toxic Chemistry of Products
Free summary of this shocking book
for learning the truth about toxic products
Aloe Vera 100
Pure, dried 100% aloe vera gel flakes
for sludge blood, IBS, Crohn's disease
Free download: Selling Sickness (summary)
Read the best book on disease mongering
for learning the truth about Big Pharma
Revealed: Natural Health Solutions (free)
Free summary of book by Mike Adams
for learning censored natural health remedies
Katadyn MicroPur Water Purifier Tablets☯
The best water purification tablets
for purifying almost any water source
Zyflamend
Powerful anti-inflammatory herbal formula
for arthritis, joint pain, inflammation
Nascent Iodine
Miraculous nascent iodine solution
for thyroid function, Alzheimer's, brain func.
Blood Support
Halts growth of cancer tumors
for breast cancer and all cancers
Amaz-a-Power
Amazing wild berry tincture from Peru
for eye & brain protection, cancer prevention
P-73 Oreganol
Potent source of wildcrafted oregano oil
for parasites, heart disease, immune func.
Ocean Minerals Pure Magnesium Oil
#1 product for magnesium therapy
for back pain, heart health, muscle health
MGC-5 Mushroom Extracts
Potent extracts of medicinal mushrooms
for reversing cancer, boosting immune function
* Products do NOT pay to be listed here. These are genuine, independent recommendations by the Health Ranger
☯ Products with this symbol are sold by NaturalNews or its affiliates and earn revenues for NaturalNews
|
|
Printable Version
Email this article to a friend
Share this article on: 
