Skip to main content

Currently Skimming:

5 Industry, Advertising, Media, and Public Education
Pages 153-192

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.


From page 153...
... The food, beverage, restaurant, entertainment, leisure, and recreation industries must share responsibility for childhood obesity prevention and can be instrumental in supporting this goal. Federal agencies such as the U.S.
From page 154...
... . But numerous opportunities for influencing consumers' purchase decisions present themselves as the food and beverage industries develop, package, label, promote, distribute, and price products and as retail food stores, full-service restaurants, and fast food establishments make similar sets of decisions.
From page 155...
... , and reducing portion sizes at full-service and fast food restaurants (Hurley and LieLman, 2004)
From page 156...
... . The committee recommends that as new products are developed or existing products are modified by the plivate sector, it should be imperative that energy balance, energy density, nutrient density, and standard serving sizes are primary considerations in the process.
From page 157...
... . Nutrient composition data available from fast food company websites suggest that average menus are twice the energy density of recommended healthful diets (Prentice and Jebb, 2003)
From page 158...
... One study that evaluated the relationship of food intake behaviors to total energy intake among 3A salving sire is a standatdired unit of measure used to describe the total amount of foods recommended daily fr om each of the food g oops f om the Food Guide Pyt amid (FGP) or a specific amot nt of food that contains the quantity of not tents listed on the Not irion Facts panel A pornon size is the amoont of food an individual is served at home ot away Tom home and chooses to conslune fot a meal ot snack Pottions can be latget ot smaller than salving sires isted on the food label ot the FGP (USDA, 1999)
From page 159...
... Moreover, the food industry should investigate other approaches for promoting consumption of smaller portion sizes and standard serving sizes. Leisure, Entertainment, and Recreation Industries Americans now enjoy more leisure time than they did a few decades ago.
From page 160...
... and automobiles have contributed to sedentary behaviors among Americans, causing them to expend less energy. This phenomenon of increased time spent in passive sedentary pursuits relative to active leisure activities has been associated with the rise in obesity (French et al., 2001a; Philipson and Posner, 2003)
From page 161...
... The evaluation of private-sector programs is crucial in order to assess if they are effective in increasing physical activity, especially among high-risk populations, and determine if they may have unanticipated and adverse consequences. Full-Service and Fast Food Restaurant Industry Increased consumption of food outside of the home has been one of the most marked changes in the American diet over the past several decades.
From page 162...
... . Given the growing public concern about the rise in obesity, particularly childhood obesity, full service and fast food restaurants throughout the country have begun offering healthier food options.
From page 163...
... . in a study of 6,212 children and adolescents between the ages of 4 and 19 years of age participating in the CSFII, those who ate fast food consumed more total energy, more energy per gram of food (greater energy density)
From page 164...
... Providing Nutrition Education at Restaurants In addition to voluntary point-of-service menu labeling, the committee recognizes that parents currently have limited nutrition information to rely on in order to select portion sizes and foods that are appropriate for their child. Thus, the committee encourages the restaurant industry to provide nutrition education that is consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the FGP in order to inform parents and older youth about appropriate energy intake for meals intended for children and adolescents of different ages.
From page 165...
... Because such an enhancement could be used by parents to determine a single restaurant meal's percentage of their child's daily required total energy intake, encouraging restaurants to adopt this educational tool may promote children's consumption of smaller food portions. Additionally, the full-service and fast food restaurant industries should provide general nutli5An example of an adapted FGP is the Radiant Pytamid, a daily food guide bated on the concept of nottient density, The most nottient-dense food choices, at the bottom of the pytamid, should ee constmed in apptoptiate tetving sizes f equently, whereas the most enetgy-dense food choices at the (much smaller)
From page 166...
... Recommendation 2: Industry Industry should make obesity prevention in children and youth a priority by developing and promoting products, opportumties, and information that will encourage healthful eating behaviors and regular physical activity. To implement this recommendation: · Food and beverage mdustlies should develop product and packaging innovations that consider energy density, nutrient density, and standard servung sizes to help consumers make healthful choices.
From page 167...
... . The committee endorses this as a step to assist consumers in making informed decisions to achieve energy balance.
From page 168...
... FDA should establish mandatory guidelines for the display of total calorie content on the Nutrition Facts panel regarding products such as vending-machine items, single-selving snack foods, and ready-to-eat foods purchased at convenience stores—typically consumed in their entirety on one eating occasion. Although many prepackaged, ready-to-eat foods are provided an package sizes that may typically be consumed all at once, the nutrition label offers information only on one serving, as defined by the FDA standard serving size.
From page 169...
... . The FDA has approved 14 different health claims that may be used on food packages that emphasize both risks and benefits such as the relationship between heart disease and saturated fat; cancer and fruits and vegetables; and coronary heart disease risk and fruits, vegetables, grains, and soluble fiber (IOM, 2004)
From page 170...
... For example, by developing a health claim for food products that have an energy density below 1 calorie per gram, such foods might be considered supportive of maintaining a healthy body weight. However, this type of health claim could not apply to beverages.' A disclosure statement may be needed to accompany a health claim if consumer research reveals that a health claim on a food label would imply that a food is healthful in all respects (e.g., it has a low energy density but may not be nutrient dense)
From page 171...
... . The committee encourages the FDA to examine ways to give the food and beverage industries greater flexibility in making nutrient content and health claims that help consumers including children achieve and maintain energy balance.
From page 172...
... . Moreover, an accumulated body of research reveals that more than 50 percent of television advertisements directed at children promote foods and beverages such as candy, fast food, snack foods, soft drinks, and sweetened breakfast cereals that are high in calories and fat, low in fiber, and low in nutrient density (Kotz and Story, 1994; Gamble and Cotunga, 1999; Horgen et al., 2001; Hastings et al., 2003)
From page 173...
... . indeed, the 2003 Roper Youth Reportl° suggests that an increased number of children aged 8 to 17 years are playing central roles in household purchasing decisions related to food, media, and entertainment (Roper ASW, 2003)
From page 174...
... that advertising targeted to children under the age of 8 is inherently unfair because it takes advantage of younger children's inability to attribute persuasive intent to advertising. There is presently insufficient causal evidence that links advertising directly with childhood obesity and that would support a ban on all food advertising directed to children.
From page 175...
... However, it is desirable that industry is provided with an opportunity to implement voluntary changes to move toward marketing and advertising practices that do not increase the risk of obesity among children and youth, followed by government regulation if voluntary actions are determined to be unsuccessful. DHHS should convene a national conference and invite the participation of a diverse group of stakeholders to develop standards for marketing of foods and beverages (e.g., portion sizes, calories, fat, sugar, and sodium)
From page 176...
... to limit children's exposure to products that are not consistent with the principle of energy balance and that do not promote healthful diets and regular physical activity. Further, Congress should empower the FTC with the authority and resources to monitor compliance with the guidelines, scrutinize marketing practices of the relevant industries (including product promotion, placement, and content)
From page 177...
... Deployrng the media should be seen as part of a broader effort to change social norms— for youth about their own behavior, for parents about their actions on behalf of their children, and for society at large about the need to support policies that protect its most vulnerable members. There is perhaps some crony in using the mass media to address the childhood obesity epidemic when the sedentary lifestyles associated with viewing television are noted to be contributing causes of that epidemic (see
From page 178...
... Thus, media-centered efforts include not only those directed at children and youth themselves, and those directed at parents, but also those directed at policy makers. Throughout this report the committee has emphasized the central role of policy change in obesity prevention, and media-based efforts can have an important role in achieving these changes.
From page 179...
... . Similarly, it will likely be easier to implement policies to prevent childhood obesity if the general public is Informed about the issues and strongly supportive of the need to address them.
From page 180...
... . Although evaluations of deliberate campaigns may not show consistent evidence of influence on dietary intake and outcomes, there are some influences producing large shifts in dietary knowledge and behavior.
From page 181...
... . In March 2004, DHHS announced an obesity-focused campaign called "Small Steps" that is comprised of a series of public service announcements recommending that Americans take small and achievable steps toward increasing physical activity and reducing calorie consumption to improve their health and reverse the obesity epidemic (DHHS, 2004)
From page 182...
... , though the committee does not have any information about their possible influence of these efforts on youth behavior. The advantage of such industry-sponsored programs is that they do not require explicit public investment; however, reasonably enough, they will reflect their sponsors' interests, which may not always coincide with the agendas of those primarily concerned with youth obesity.
From page 183...
... Only the mass media offer the possibility of reaching that srzeable and wide-ranging audience. Thus the committee recommends that DHHS, in coordination with other federal departments and agencies and with input from independent experts, develop, implement, and rigorously evaluate a broad-based, longterm, national multimedia and public relations campaign focused on obesity prevention in children and youth.
From page 184...
... Thus, based on a rigorous evaluation over the long term, resources should be redirected if results are not promising in meeting the three components of the campaign. In addition, the committee notes that physical activity is but one side of the energy equation.
From page 185...
... for addressing the obesity problem. Recommendation 5: Multimedia and Public Relations Campaign DHHS should develop and evaluate a long-term national multimedia and public relations campaign focused on obesity prevention in children and youth.
From page 186...
... ptesentahon at the workshop on The Ptevennon of Childhood Obesity: Undetstanding the Lnfloences of Matketing, Media, and Family Dynamics. Committee on the Ptevention of Obesity in Children and Youth, Institute of Medicine.
From page 187...
... Fast food testautant use among adoletcents: Associations with nut lent intake, food choices and behaviotal and psychosocial vatiables.
From page 188...
... 2002. Does nut ition infatmanon abom the energy density of meals affect food intake in notmal-weight women?
From page 189...
... 2003a. Food Pol~hcs How the Food Industry Inflmences Nutnt~on end Heelth.
From page 190...
... 2003. Fast foods, enetgy density and obesity: A possible mechanisuc ink.
From page 191...
... . Childhood Obesity—Whet Can We Learn from Existing Data on Socuztal Trends.


This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More information on Chapter Skim is available.