More Ammo to Fight Junk Food Ads to Our Kids

Last Friday I told you how you can submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on junk food advertising to kids. The FTC is investigating food and beverage advertising techniques used to reel our kids in.

On the heels of this investigation, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement urging physicians to take action. In Children, Adolescents and Advertising, published in the December issue of Pediatrics, the AAP urges physicians to do their part in curtailing advertising targeted at our kids. Among the many recommendations, there are a couple I wanted to highlight. In the report, physicians are asked to:

Work with parent and public health groups to:
-ask Congress to implement a ban on junk-food advertising during programming that is viewed predominantly by young children
-ask Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to limit commercial advertising on children's programming to no more than 5 to 6 minutes/hour, which would decrease the current amount by 50%

The recommendations span alcohol and tobacco advertising as well as food advertising. If you decided to send a comment to the FTC, check out this report for more ammo. I think we are seeing the tide about to change!

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