The average kid spends seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen watching billions of dollars in advertising for foods of the poorest nutritional quality.1 Overweight kids eat 50 percent of their meals in front of the television. Teaching our children every day about healthy nutrition cannot compete with the marketing onslaught. Thomas Frieden, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control, recommends that we prohibit food marketing to children.
Here’s what you can do
- Restrict all media marketing of liquid calories, fast food, junk food, and processed food, especially to children. Food marketing directed at children has been banned in over 50 countries across the globe. America needs to follow their lead!
- Restrict unproven health claims on labels. Foods with health claims on the label are often the least healthy. The FDA should restrict health claims.
- Do a media fast. Avoid all media for a week (or two) with your family, or create a media fast group at work or school.