Media and Obesity

The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report in 2004, The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity, that brings together research from a variety of disciplines for the first time in a document that looks exclusively at the role of media in contributing to and potentially helping to reduce rates of childhood obesity.

From the press release:
The typical child sees about 40,000 ads a year on TV, and that the majority of ads targeted to kids are for candy, cereal, soda and fast food... Exposure to food advertising affects children’s food choices and requests for products in the supermarket.

The report also highlights ways media can play a positive role in helping to reduce childhood obesity, through programs that encourage children to be active and help teach good nutrition, through public education campaigns aimed at children and parents, and by using popular media characters to promote healthier food options to children.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity, Feb. 2004