Disney junk-food ad ban latest move to slim U.S. kids
WASHINGTON Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co's new steps to limit junk food advertising on TV shows geared toward children is the latest salvo in the nation's fight against childhood obesity. But it left critics questioning whether the moves were enough to cut the growing waistlines of U.S. youth.
The new initiative, announced on Tuesday in a high-profile event featuring first lady Michelle Obama, will end some junk-food advertising on Disney television, radio and online programs intended for children under the age of 12.
Disney is also launching its own "Mickey Check" label for food it deems to be nutritious to help promote certain healthier foods in grocery stores and other retailers.
The plan follows New York City's recent proposal to ban jumbo-sized sugary drinks. The growing campaign -- ranging from voluntary industry action to government and policy steps -- aim to curb consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrition foods that play a role in the nation's obesity epidemic.
The Disney announcement confirmed details sources gave Reuters on Monday and landed amid increasing pressure on the food and beverage industries to promote healthier products.
The new guidelines, which start in 2015, set limits on the number of calories and amount of fat and added sugar for main and side dishes and snacks. Kraft Foods Inc's Oscar Mayer Lunchables and Capri Sun products, for example, would not make the cut, Disney said.
But some health advocates criticized Disney's efforts, saying they would do little to shift children's eating habits and would not be implemented soon enough.
"Three more years is a really long time," said Josh Golin, Associate Director for Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.
The move was welcomed by Obama and other health advocates for putting the might of the $41 billion company behind fighting obesity in children and teenagers.
Nearly one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, and research shows youth are increasingly being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases related to obesity that were once thought of as only adult conditions. Data has shown junk food ads as one major contributor to the problem.
Obama, who has championed healthier eating and exercise habits as part of her "Let's Move" initiative, and Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger both said they hoped the Disney effort would spur other food and beverage companies to do more.
Various industry groups representing food and beverage makers said their members already take steps to limit promotions to children under 12.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association, echoing the sentiment of other industry groups, said its members welcome Disney's announcement and "enthusiastically support" Obama's initiative.
Last year, top U.S. food and drink makers including Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola and Kellogg Co agreed to industry-created voluntary nutrition guidelines for products marketed toward children under the age of 12. But the food, beverage and restaurant industries as a whole have successfully fought most government oversight on food advertising to children.
CHILDREN'S CHOICES
A 2006 Institute of Medicine report said junk food marketing contributed to childhood obesity, and consumers and health advocates increasingly are calling on food, beverage and restaurant firms to limit marketing to children.
Fast-food restaurants, in particular, have been under fire for using free toys to promote its meals for children. Some, such as Jack in the Box, have stopped offering them. Industry leader McDonald's Corp still gives away toys but has reduced the french fry portion and added apple slices to its popular Happy Meals for kids.
Packaged food companies have been reformulating some products by reducing calories, sugar and sodium while adding fiber and whole grains. Some of those products have failed to find customers.
Earlier this year Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailers, announced with some fanfare that it would label certain foods such as eggs as "Great For You" and try to lower prices on healthier food options.
Disney, which owns the ABC-TV network and a host of cable channels, introduced voluntary guidelines in 2006 that prohibited licensing of Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters for foods that do not meet minimum nutritional requirements.
That helped sell more than 2 billon servings of Disney-licensed fruits and vegetables since then, Iger said at the event, which featured a Mickey Mouse character making yogurt parfaits surrounded by buckets of lemons, oranges and apples.
Disney's new effort will not allow advertising during children's programming on its networks, including ABC and Disney XD and its child-focused websites, for foods that fail to meet minimum nutrition requirements.
Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said parents will still see some ads for sugar-filled cereals, canned pasta and other less healthy foods. Overall, however, it's a landmark step, she said.
"This puts Disney ahead of the pack of media outlets and should be a wake-up call to Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network to do the same," said Wootan, whose organization has lobbied for better nutrition standards for food eaten by children.
Wootan said the announcement is a "game changer" because it is the first time "a major media company is admitting they have responsibility for how they talk to children. In the past, the media companies were pretty much just pointing the finger at food companies."
Time Warner Inc's Cartoon Network said it adopted its own guidelines in 2007 but did not offer any details. Viacom Inc's Nickelodeon had no immediate comment.
Iger, who spoke to reporters after the event flanked by top regulators from the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, said Disney's action could sidestep the need for political action.
"If everyone does their small part, together we can create huge change without having the government step in to directly regulate or legislate our efforts," he said.
Susan Levin, director of nutrition education for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and a registered dietician, said Disney's voluntary effort would barely make a dent in children's obesity and that the government would have to do more to make any sweeping impact.
"I would really love to see a company take a huge step and say 'We're done advertising anything that's not a whole food -- a fruit, a vegetable, a bean or grain -- we're done advertising that to kids'," she said.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Baertlein and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles, Martinne Geller in New York, and Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Maureen Bavdek, Bernard Orr)
-
Disney junk-food ad ban latest move to slim U.S. kids
WASHINGTON Media and entertainment giant Walt Disney Co's new steps to limit junk food advertising on TV shows geared toward children is the latest salvo in the nation's fight against childhood obesity. But it left critics questioning whether the mov -
CVS Health quits U.S. Chamber of Commerce over tobacco stance
n">CVS Health Corp said it was withdrawing its membership from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after media reports that the trade group was lobbying globally against anti-smoking laws. The No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain said it was "surprised" -
Maine proposes ban on junk food purchases with food stamps
AUGUSTA, Maine Maine's top health official on Monday proposed banning the purchase of soda and candy under the federal aid program known as food stamps, describing the move as needed to counter an "alarming epidemic of obesity" among the state's -
Public smoking bans cut heart attack rates: studies
CHICAGO Smoking bans in public places can significantly reduce the number of heart attacks, two U.S. research teams reported on Monday. One team found smoking bans in the United States, Canada and Europe had an immediate effect that increased over ti -
Junk food still stars in TV ads seen by kids
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children are seeing fewer sugary, fatty foods advertised on TV, but unhealthy fare still makes up the bulk of food commercials they see, a new study suggests. What's more, researchers found, children were actually seeing m -
Cereal Ad Ban: Count Chocula Tage gezählt?
Tony der Tiger war falsch: Einige von ihnen sind nicht so gr-r-reat. Die Leute bei Kellogg haben so kassiert. Die Kellogg Company hat einen verantwortlichen Schritt nach vorn letzte Woche mit der Ankündigung, dass er freiwillig seine mehr ernährungsp2012-01-25 -
Arizona lawmakers vote to ban late-term abortions
PHOENIX Arizona state lawmakers gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, handing Republicans their latest win in ongoing national efforts to impose greater restrictions on abortio -
New York City official defends "supersize" drink ban
WASHINGTON New York City's top health official shot back on Thursday at critics who have blasted the city's plan to limit the sale of oversized sugary drinks such as soda, calling beverage industry opposition ridiculous. The proposed ban, which caps -
New York OKs nation's first ban on super-sized sugary drinks
NEW YORK New York City passed the first U.S. ban of oversized sugary drinks on Thursday in its latest controversial step to reduce obesity and its deadly complications in a nation with a weight problem. By an 8-0 vote with one abstention, the mayoral -
Novartis defends flu vaccines after Italian ban
ZURICH Swiss drugmaker Novartis said flu vaccines that Italy has banned from sale are safe and it does not expect other countries to take similar action. Italy banned four anti-influenza vaccines produced by Novartis on Wednesday pending tests for po -
New York City wants to ban cigarette sales to people under 21
NEW YORK New York City took the first step on Monday in outlawing sales of cigarettes to anyone under age 21, in an effort to reduce smoking among the age group in which most smokers take up the habit. The bill, which was introduced by the City Counc -
Tyson takes lead with Zilmax ban, higher beef prices may follow
CHICAGO When top U.S. meat packer Tyson Foods Inc abruptly announced it would stop buying cattle fed with a widely used drug that can add more than 30 pounds to the average steer, the implications for markets were clear: less meat, higher prices. Tys -
Third FDA ban on India's Ranbaxy threatens its U.S. sales
MUMBAI A third Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd plant in India has been hit by a U.S. import ban over quality concerns, dealing a blow to the company's turnaround plans and threatening to hurt new launches and sales of medicines to its largest market. With t -
Suspected human hair in tablet cited in FDA's Ranbaxy import ban
n">During a visit to a facility of leading Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd last year, U.S. inspectors found that a black fiber embedded in a tablet may have been a hair from an employee's arm, according to documents seen by Reuters. That -
Beijing seeks to ban purchase of cigarettes with public funds
BEIJING China's capital Beijing is proposing to ban the use of government money to buy cigarettes, either as gifts or to be provided at official functions, state media said on Friday, in the latest move to try and curtail smoking. China, home to some -
California county tries to ban pot farms as medical weed business thrives
SACRAMENTO, California Citing marijuana fields springing up next to high schools and in abandoned barns, Sacramento County supervisors are set to declare pot gardens a public nuisance in the latest move by a local government to rein in California's c -
Americans back travel ban from Ebola outbreak countries: Reuters/Ipsos poll
WASHINGTON Nearly three-fourths of Americans support a ban on civilian air travel in and out of the West African countries that have experienced an Ebola outbreak, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows, suggesting growing pressure on President Barack Obama -
Banned Medicaid providers still participate in some states, report says
n">Hundreds of medical providers banned from a Medicaid program in one state are able to take part in another state's program despite regulations designed to stop them, according to a report by an independent federal auditor to be released on Wedn -
Romanian parliament bans smoking in bars and playgrounds
BUCHAREST Romania extended a smoking ban on Tuesday to include bars and playgrounds, becoming the latest European Union state to strengthen anti-smoking controls. Prior to the bill, which has been under consideration since 2011, smoking had been bann -
FDA proposes banning under 18-year-olds from indoor tanning
n">The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday proposed banning people under the age of 18 from using sunbeds and requiring sunbed manufacturers to make warnings clearer. Users would be required to sign a form acknowledging they understand the
TOP
- Day/
- Week/
- Original/
- Recommand
- 06-011Meine Fragen zu Depo?
- 09-162Mit öffentlichen Rauchverboten in Place, Ist Huka Verwendung auf dem Vormarsch
- 01-103Studie des Tages: Junge Diabetiker eher zu lernen und verdienen weniger
- 05-214Frauen wird das Schicksal der Gesundheitsreform Steer
- 07-275Government signs on insurers to fight healthcare fraud
- 07-306Strattera ist eine Nicht-Stimulans für ADHS
- 04-237Gebärmutter-Transplantationen bieten Hoffnung für unfruchtbare Frauen
- 06-208Eau de DNA: Sie Gene Unsere Parfüm Vorlieben bestimmen?
- 11-309Die 7 Most Effective Ergänzungen zum Lift Your Mood
- 06-0310Die Precedent bei der Regulierung Soda
Updated
Aus Brasilien, einem Versatile Liquor
Foto von Danny Botelho / Flickr CC Als Sommelier würde ich irgendwann den Zorn der Gäste, deren einwandfreie Französisch Aussprache entstehen konnte keinen Fehltritt erlauben. Soll ich die "Pop" von Châteauneuf-du-Pape unter artikulieren würde iSoll ich meine Dosis von Cymbalta erhöhen?
Ich habe wirklich kein Vertrauen in mein Arzt verschreiben, aber ich war wegen einer schweren Depression Cymbalta nach der Landung in einem psych Krankenhaus gegeben. Der Arzt hat mich dort auf 30mgs von Cymbalta und es hat Schmerzen enorm def half zWie viel soll für den Schlaf täglich genommen werden und hat jemand bemerkt, Gewichtszunahme unter Verwendung von L-Tryptophan?
Ich habe schreckliche Schlaf Probleme, die im Zusammenhang mit Fibromyalgie werden kann. Ich lese gerade einen Artikel über Fibro und es scheint die einzige zu sein, die eine mögliche genetische Verbindung trägt. Meine Mutter (86), mich / männlich (5Was passiert, wenn ich früh meine Nuva Ring heraus nehmen?
Ich bin zur Zeit in meiner zweiten Woche meines zweiten Monat auf Nuva-Ring. Seit ich den Ring begann ich verrückt Stimmungsschwankungen gehabt haben, ich fühle mich einfach schrecklich die ganze Zeit! Ich habe 2 kleine Jungen und ich kann so nicht fKann ich mein Kind das Cleocin zu Crangrape Saft in ihrem Schnabeltasse hinzufügen?
Sie soll 7,5 mg 4-mal pro Tag zu nehmen und wir sind nicht immer alles nach unten. Es hat doch einen besseren Weg geben! ----schneiden---- In Antwort auf die Marvell bei 2010-07-30 13.47 Es ist keine gute Idee, Antibiotika zu etwas (Saft, Milch, etc.Irgendwelche Vorschläge - ich fing an, Pristiq ca. 6 Wochen und bin nicht sicher, dass dies für mich ist?
Meine Angst ist schlimmer auf dieses Medikament - Ich schüttle den ganzen Tag und fühle mich wirklich seltsam. Ich kann nicht auf etwas konzentrieren. Ich nehme 50 mg am Morgen. Irgendwelche Vorschläge? Vielen Dank. ----schneiden---- In Antwort auf PPortia - meine Zeit ist zu spät. Was soll ich machen?
Ich begann vor der Pille 2 Monate nehmen. Meine erste Periode dauerte drei Tage, diesmal ist es Dienstag und ich haben begonnen, sollte ... ist das normal oder muss ich besorgt und einen Schwangerschaftstest werden müssen? ----schneiden---- In AntworIch bin 53 und habe eine chronische Pankreatitis wegen Alkoholmissbrauch. Ich habe unter Tramadol?
seit fast 3 Jahren. Als mein Zustand verschlechtert hat, hat der Schmerz häufiger geworden, da meine Anwendung von Tramadol hat, die ich über den Ladentisch kaufen können, wo Ilive .. vor kurzem über Ich habe durchschnittlich 6x50mg pro Tag statt undBack to School: Bücher mit Ideen Lunch für Bad Pakete Fixing
Wollten Sie etwas über die Schule Mahlzeiten zu tun , aber nicht wissen , wie? Nun , da Sie diese Liste haben, gibt es keine Ausreden mehr. Wenn Sie auf die Verbesserung der Mahlzeiten an Ihrer Kinder Schulen arbeiten wollen, ist viel Hilfe zur VerfüWarum Ihre Krankenversicherung nicht bezahlen für Ihre Gesundheit
Wenn Ihr Arzt einen Test empfiehlt, Medikamente oder Verfahren und Ihre Krankenversicherung wird für sie nicht zahlen, kann es erschreckend sein. Wenn es einen alternativen Test, Medikamente oder Verfahren, und Ihre Gesundheit Plan wird funktionieren
- Denim may thwart rattlesnake venom
- Depression - hallo yall! Ich fragte mich, ob jemand Meds (Lexapro) und war ausgestiegen?
- Hat jemand 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan) Zuschlag für Fibromyalgie verwendet?
- Die Farbpsychologie Schwarz
- Hat jemand die Zutaten in Lisinopril recherchiert?
- Studieren Auswirkungen von Kohlenmonoxid
- Wurde mit Psedu Tumor Dr. vorgeschriebenen 1500 mg Acetazolamid Täglich schlimmsten Nebenwirkungen diagose?
- 5 Dinge, die Opfer von Mobbing am Arbeitsplatz sollte Freigabe auf Social Media Vermeiden
- Wie funktioniert cymbalta mit Schmerzen helfen? Wie haben Sie davon profitiert? Oder nicht?
- Machen Aha Moments Happen-Then Sehen Gehe eine Barmaid