The Fight Against Fast Food Advertising & Childhood Obesity

Posted by Bag The Junk on December 4, 2013

Topics: Obesity, Healthy Snacks & Beverages

Thirty-three percent of kids and 41% of teenagers eat high-calorie, high-fat fast food every single day, according to research by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. Kids and teens end up consuming an extra 126-310 calories a day when they eat fast food, and less than 1 percent of all kids’ meal combinations actually meet recommended nutrition standards. While a majority of schools are getting rid of junk food and snacks in the cafeteria, many secondary schools have contracts with fast food vendors like Taco Bell, McDonalds and Domino’s Pizza that sell unhealthy dishes alongside more nutritious options from federally-funded meal programs. In addition, fast food is heavily marketed to children and teens outside schools.

Here are some key findings from Yale Rudd Center’s study, “Fast Food FACTS 2013”:

“McDonald’s spent 2.7 times as much to advertise its products as all fruit, vegetable, bottled water and milk advertisers combined.”
“On average, U.S. preschoolers viewed 2.8 fast food ads on TV every day in 2012, older children viewed 3.2 ads and teens viewed 4.8 ads daily.”
“Fast food restaurants continued to target black and Hispanic youth, populations at high risk for obesity and related diseases.”“

What can educators and parents do to combat fast food marketing to children and teens? Some communities have started taking more drastic measures against fast food establishments, like proposing that restaurants be located a specific distance away from schools. In Texas, 44% of children in Austin public schools are at risk of obesity. This alarmingly high rate has prompted the Austin City Council to create “healthy food zones” to protect local students from new fast-food restaurants, according to a recent Yahoo! News article.

Back in September, we wrote about two ways adults can help protect kids from unhealthy food marketing: 1) Parents can cut down kids’ screen time, since children are exposed to ads mainly via the TV and computer; 2) Educators and parents can continue striving to be the best healthy role models they can. Read the full blog post here.

How are you working to ensure your kids and students develop healthy habits despite their heavy exposure to fast food advertisements? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments below.

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