Reduce advertising to curb childhood obesity

Thu. Nov 20, 2008

Banning fast food advertising on television could reduce the incidence of childhood obesity by as much as 18% say researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

In the largest study of its kind, researchers measured the number of hours children were exposed to fast food advertising each week.

They found that eliminating fast food advertising during children's programs would reduce the number of overweight children by up to 18 percent, with the effect being more pronounced in girls.

Similar bans have already been implemented by Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

"We have known for some time that childhood obesity has gripped our culture, but little empirical research has been done that identifies television advertising as a possible cause," Shin-Yi Chou of Lehigh University. "Hopefully, this line of research can lead to a serious discussion about the type of policies that can curb America's obesity epidemic."

While other studies have provided compelling evidence linking food advertising with childhood obesity, they have not proven to be definitive and action has been delayed as a result.   According to study co-author Michael Grossman of City University of New York Graduate Center, "Our study provides evidence of that link."

The Centers for Disease Control estimate that, between 1970 and 1999, the percentage of overweight children ages 6-11 more than tripled to 13 percent. Adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 also saw a significant increase, reaching 14 percent.

Research indicates that there is an 80 percent chance an overweight adolescent will be an obese adult and that over 300,000 deaths can be attributed to obesity and weight in the United States every year.

SOURCE: Journal of Law and Economics