Food pushers

The Institute of Medicine released a report Tuesday on marketing effects on children's diets. According to its press notice, the study:

• Describes the state of food and beverage marketing to children and youth and the impact of this exposure on their diets and health
• Develops a framework and indicators for various stakeholders to guide the development of effective marketing and advertising strategies that foster healthy food choices among children and youth
• If feasible, provides estimated costs of implementation strategies and benchmarks to guide future evaluation.

Written for parents, food retailers, media, government, and schools, and requested by Congress, the Institute's study finds that "current food and beverage marketing practices puts children's long-term health at risk."

Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? (2006)
(available as an Open Book from The National Academies Press (NAP) - see mission for information on format)

A 35 p Executive Summary available in pdf, 615KB