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KSPS is your public television station. Stream your favorite PBS shows, see the schedule, and learn how donor-supported TV educates and enriches your community.

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Restaurants have been around in some form for most of human civilization. But they usually catered to travelers. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome, inns and taverns generally served food to people who had a reason to be away from home. This trend continued until relatively recently. Although taverns and coffee houses were popular places to gather and share beverages in the 17th century, the idea of eating out for fun didn't take off in Western society until the late 18th century.

Although McDonald's was the first restaurant to use the assembly-line system, some people think of White Castle as the first fast-food chain. White Castle was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. At the time, most people considered the burgers sold at fairs, circuses, lunch counters and carts to be low-quality. Many people thought hamburger came from slaughterhouse scraps and spoiled meat.

White Castle's founders decided to change the public's perception of hamburgers. They built their restaurants so that customers could see the food being prepared. They painted the buildings white and even chose a name that suggested cleanliness. White Castle was most popular in the American East and Midwest, but its success helped give hamburger meat a better reputation nationwide. So, like cars, White Castle played an important part in the development of fast food.

The McDonald brothers opened their redesigned restaurant in 1948, and several fast-food chains that exist today opened soon after. Burger King and Taco Bell got their start in the 1950s, and Wendy's opened in 1969. Some chains, like Carl's Jr., KFC and Jack in the Box, existed before the Speedee Service System, but modified their cooking techniques after its debut. McDonald's, which started it all, is now the world's largest fast-food chain.

According to the National Restaurant Association, American sales of fast food totaled $163.5 billion in 2005 [ ref]. The industry is growing globally as well. Total sales for McDonald's grew 5.6 percent in 2005, and the company now has 30,000 franchised stores in more than 120 countries [ ref and ref].

However, McDonald's - and fast food in general - does not always get a welcoming reception around the world. McDonald's restaurants have been attacked in several countries, including the United States, China, Belgium, Holland, India, Russia, Sweden and the U.K. Protestors have accused McDonald's and other chains of selling unhealthy food, marketing aggressively to children and undermining local values and culture.

See the links below for more on nutrition, fast food and related topics.

Related HowStuffWorks Articles

More Great Links

Sources

"McDonald's Settles Beef over Fries." CBS News. 6/5/2002. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/05/national/main511109.shtml

"McSupersizes to be Phased Out." CNN. 3/3/2004. http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/03/02/mcdonalds.supersize.ap/

Adamy, Janet and Richard Gibson. "Flak over 'Fast Food Nation.'" The Wall Street Journal. 3/18/2006.

Case, Tony. "Fast Food." Brandweek. 5/1/2006.

Coghlan, Andy. "Fast Food Awash in 'Worst' Kind of Fat." New Scientist. 4/12/2006. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19025565.000.html

Coghlan, Andy. "Fast Foods Trick the Body." New Scientist. 10/25/2005. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18024181.500.html

Frumkin, Paul. "CSPI Eyes More Trans Fat Suits after KFC." 6/26/2006.

Gosline, Anna. "Why Fast Foods are Bad, Even in Moderation." New Scientist. 6/12/2006. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn9318&feedId=online-news_rss20

Hellmich, Nanci. "Food Websites Tempt Kids." USA Today. 7/20/2006.

Jakle, John A. and Keith A. Sculle. "Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age." Johns Hopkins University Press. 1999.

Jeitschko, Thomas D. "Do You Want Fries With That? An Exploration of Serving Size, Social Welfare, and Our Waistlines." Economic Inquiry. July 2006.

Lappe, Anna. "Time to Turn the Tables on 'Big Food'." New Scientist. 7/15/2006. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125601.600.html

MacArthur, Kate. "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Advertising Age. 7/172006.

MacArthur, Kate. "Fast-Food Rethinks Marketing." Advertising Age. 6/30/2003.

Martindale, Diane. "Burgers on the Brain." New Scientist. 1/2/2003. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17723804.800.html

McGirt, Ellen. "Thank You for Eating, Driving and Smoking." Fortune. 7/24/2006.

Motluk, Alison. "Supersize Me." New Scientist. 10/30/2004. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18424715.700.html

New Scientist. "A High with Your Fries?" New Scientist. 1/2/2003. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17723800.100.html

New Scientist. "Dangerous Fast Food Fats Show Global Variation." 4/22/2006 . http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19025483.300.html

New Scientist. "Six Years of Fast Food Supersizes Monkeys." 7/17/2006. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg19025565.000.html Pea, Donecia. "Fast Food Industry Providing Healthier Options." Shreveport Times. 1/26/2006. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060726/NEWS05/60726017

Schlosser, Eric. "Fast Food Nation." Perennial. 2002.

Severson, Kim. "Fast Food Alarm is Supersized." New York Times. 5/10/2006.

Spurlock, Morgan. "Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America." Putnam. 2005.

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Restaurants have been around in some form for most of human civilization. But they usually catered to travelers. As far back as ancient Greece and Rome, inns and taverns generally served food to people who had a reason to be away from home. This trend continued until relatively recently.

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From weight gain to heart problems, learn how highly processed foods affect your body.

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Returning home from my university on a hot day, I craved a chilled sugary drink. I rushed to the fridge to grab one, sat on my sofa and started scrolling social media. That's where I saw an ad for some burgers and fries. I decided to order. I was hungry and needed some energy to finish my to-do list for the day.

I didn't know at this point that eating this type of highly processed food would make me feel lazier, sleepier - and affect my whole life in a negative way.

I had moved away from home in 2021, when I was 18, to continue my education. It was my first time living without my family and looking after myself independently. I was out of my comfort zone and overwhelmed. There were so many things to do, and in all the chaos, I overlooked my diet because it seemed the easiest and quickest thing to do.

As young people, we're constantly conditioned that eating junk food will make us happy. It's on our TVs, in our schools, in the shops on our walk home - it's hard to escape it.

Whenever my friends and I would get hungry, we'd crave a bag of chips, biscuits or crispy patties - easy to get hold of and cheap. This was the only type of food that crossed our minds. We thought all other food was boring.

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Junk food is inescapable in youth's lives - and it's making us sick

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Returning home from my university on a hot day, I craved a chilled sugary drink. I rushed to the fridge to grab one, sat on my sofa and started scrolling social media. That's where I saw an ad for some burgers and fries. I decided to order.

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Posted by Ilya Rahkovsky, Young Jo, and Andrea Carlson, Food Economics Division, Economic Research Service in Research and Science

People eating out at a fast food restaurant.

Many Americans lead busy lives and don't have a lot of time to prepare food for their families. Faced with greater time constraints from work, childcare, and commuting, they often turn to convenience foods. Convenience foods are defined as types of foods that save time in food acquisition, preparation, and cleanup. Convenience foods are restaurant meals and ready-to-eat food from grocery stores. The ready-to-eat food encompasses many types of food ranging from bananas to frozen pizza that require little or no preparation. Although these convenience foods save time, they tend to have lower nutritional values and can be more expensive than food that takes more time to prepare. In our recent report, Consumers Balance Time and Money in Purchasing Convenience Foods, we use USDA's 2012-13 National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS) to explore why Americans purchase convenience foods, what types of convenience foods they purchase, and the factors affecting their decisions; such as time constraints, prices, the food environment, and financial resources. More specifically, we examine how each factor affects foods with varying degree of convenience that consumers purchase: fast-food, full-service restaurant meals, ready-to-eat foods from grocery stores, or non-ready-to-eat foods from grocery stores.

Employment creates time constraints from both the time spent working and the time spent commuting. These time constraints shift consumer demand from grocery store foods to restaurant meals. The shift to full-service restaurants is most notable when all adults in the household are employed. Households where all the adults are employed purchase 12 percent less ready-to-eat food from grocery stores and 72 percent more food from full-service restaurants than households where not all adults are employed.

Having children in the household also affects convenience food choices, both because parents select foods they believe their children will eat, and because parents spend time taking care of children and therefore have less time to prepare food. Households with children purchase 19 percent more fast-food meals and 38 percent less full-service restaurant meals than households without children. However, as the number of children in the household increases, they purchase more foods from grocery stores and less from restaurants. In addition, single parents, who do not have a partner to help out with child care, purchase 14 percent more ready-to-eat foods than all other households.

Financial resources also play an important role in convenience food choices. Convenience foods from fast-food or full-service restaurants tend to be more expensive than those bought from grocery stores. Not surprisingly, as household incomes rise, households shift from ready-to-eat food from grocery stores to fast-food and full-service restaurant meals. On the other hand, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides program participants with funds to purchase food from grocery stores, and as a result, SNAP participants tend to buy more food from grocery stores and less from restaurants than non-participants who are eligible for SNAP.

Consumers' decisions on how much of different types of convenience foods they purchase is influenced by time constraints, prices, the food environment, and financial resources. Understanding what motivates these consumers to purchase convenience foods has important implications for public health, given that convenience foods are often associated with lower nutritional value.

Time constraints due to employment are associated with greater preference for convenience foods.

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What Drives Consumers to Purchase Convenience Foods?

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Many Americans lead busy lives and don't have a lot of time to prepare food for their families. Faced with greater time constraints from work, childcare, and commuting, they often turn to convenience foods. Convenience foods are defined as types of foods that save time in food acquisition, preparation, and cleanup.

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centers for disease control and prevention

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us department of health and human services

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Here's how much fast food Americans are eating | CNN

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More than a third of adults in the United States - about 84.8 million people - ate fast food on any given day between 2013 and 2016, according to a new CDC report. Fast food consumption varied by age, income level, race and sex.

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McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell -- which one are you craving today? It's pretty likely that you have a favorite fast food chain and that you love many of the tasty options offered at these restaurants. It's hard to miss them. As of 2012, there were 263,944 fast food restaurants in America with a combined revenue of well over $100 billion.

With a Gallup poll revealing that 8 in 10 Americans eat fast food at least monthly and half saying they eat it weekly, these companies know they have a good thing going. And with all the savvy marketing they do, it's no wonder you're itching for that Big Mac. But before you scarf one down, you might want to truly evaluate what's going on with your fast food. Here are some truths that may make you wonder if you still want to go to there for lunch.

David DiSalvo, a writer at Forbes, decided to really look into the eggs in popular fast food breakfast sandwiches. What he discovered was that their "eggs" are really a strange concoction that includes eggs and "premium egg blend." Some things that are in this special blend include glycerin, a solvent found in soap and shaving cream, dimethylpolysiloxane, a silicone that can also be found in Silly Putty, and calcium silicate, a sealant used on roofs and concrete. The age of just cracking an egg and cooking it has long since passed.

"Mechanically-separated meat" is a mixture created when the bones and carcass of a leftover chicken are mixed together in a food processor. There's been a lot of back and forth about what that lovely pinkish sludge actually looks like, but chef Jamie Oliver decided to create a chicken mixture, shown above, to show what it might theoretically look like. This slime is then molded into a nugget shape, breaded and fried. However, McDonald's has released a statement indicating that the company "does not process any of its meat products in the manner that is described in the mechanically separated chicken story or photo" and that nuggets made in the U.S. are "made from USDA inspected boneless white meat chicken." Reddit user "Dfunkatron," who claimed to be a former McDonald's employee, told a horrifying story about his workplace:

" [...] I accidentally left a whole bag of about 100 chicken nuggets out on a counter for way too long. They melted. Into a pool of liquid. I never understood why. But they were completely indiscernible as being the nuggets i once knew."

This meat-in-a-bag looks extremely appetizing ... it sort of reminds us of gingerbread. Back in 2011, Taco Bell came under fire over claims that its meat was only 36 percent beef. While the controversy has been cleared up and we now know that Taco Bell is serving meat, there's something weird about the fact that it gets delivered in plastic-wrapped sheets.

Recently, the limited-time only McRib created headlines when a Reddit user shared what the McRib "patty" looks like frozen. Don't worry, the "breaks" in the meat aren't real bones.

Unsurprisingly, most fast food restaurants don't list the exact ingredients in their lettuce -- you wouldn't think they'd need to -- but many places dust their salads with propylene glycol to keep the leaves crisp. While considered safe for consumption, propylene glycol can be found in antifreeze and sexual lubricants. Above, a picture of someone's Burger King "side salad." We can't tell what's on it, exactly, but it looks sad.

You love the tomato-based sauces at your favorite chain restaurant...

On the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reports on "Inspections, Compliance, Enforcement and Criminal Investigations," the agency says it's acceptable for sauces to contain "30 or more fly eggs per 100 grams" and "1 or more maggot per 100 grams." At those levels, you probably wouldn't notice, and if you did, it's really just protein anyways. But still ... yum.

(Credit: Imgur/atopiary)

These McDonald's and KFC fries were sealed in these jars in 2008, and the photo was taken in 2012. A little more than three years later and the McDonald's fries show few signs of aging. Marion Nestle, chairwoman of NYU's food studies program, told Salon that you can thank heavy servings of preservatives for that ageless quality. She said McDonald's would have to use " a lot of sodium propionate to prevent bacterial or mold growth." If only eating fries would keep you looking so young.

Their motto may be "Better Ingredients, Better Pizza," but Papa John's won't let you in on just what those "better ingredients" are. Melanie Warner, a writer for US News, found out firsthand when she called a Papa John's and asked about the ingredients. The employee told her, "I think they're listed on the website." When Warner realized the complete ingredient information wasn't actually listed there, she called Papa John's customer toll free number. She was told that if she wanted "additional information on allergen or nutritional info," she should leave a message with a certain representative. She left two messages and never got a call back.

While we're still largely in the dark, at least we know that Papa John's has pledged to stop raising sows in gestation crates, which confines pregnant pigs in small enclosures in which they cannot move. While mystery still remains as to what exactly is in Papa John's pizza, they're not the only ones who withhold this information.

Wendy's claims their chili has an "award-winning taste." Maybe that's because it has silicon dioxide in it. Also known as silica, silicon dioxide can be found in quartz or sand. It also serves as an "anti-caking agent," allowing the chili to stay looking fresh.

Yes, that is what a McDonald's hamburger looked like after a man forgot it in his coat pocket ... in 1999. David Whipple, revealed to the TV show "The Doctors," that this 14-year-old burger appeared to have never aged. In 2010, J. Kenji López-Alt conducted a series of tests for Serious Eats to figure out if various burgers would rot over time. He theorized that the burger didn't " because its small size and relatively large surface area help it to lose moisture very fast. Without moisture, there's no mold or bacterial growth." We dare you to take a bite.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated antifreeze contains propylene glycerol; it in fact contains propylene glycol. This post also implied that McDonald's used "mechanically separated poultry" in their chicken nuggets. However, the company has repeatedly denied this claim and released a statement indicating that they do not use "MSP."

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These Disturbing Fast Food Truths Will Make You Reconsider Your Lunch

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What's a McDonald's burger look like after it's been in someone's pocket or 14 years? You'd be surprised.

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The fast-food industry spent $5 billion on advertising in 2019, and the advertisements disproportionately targeted Black and Latino youth, according to new research published today by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut. The new report, Fast Food FACTS 2021, finds that the industry's annual ad spending in 2019 increased by over $400 million since 2012, and that children and teens were viewing on average more than two fast food TV ads per day.

Frequent and widespread exposure to fast-food marketing increases young people's preferences for, and consumption of, fast-food, which is largely high in calories, sugar, fat, and sodium. Fast-food represents 40% of all food and beverage marketing expenditures targeted at children and teens (aged 2-17). Using 2019 Nielsen data, the study found that children aged 2-5 viewed an average of 830 TV ads for fast food over the course of the year, while children aged 6-11 viewed 787 ads, and teens and tweens aged 12-17 viewed 775 ads.

The study also shows that disparities in racial and ethnic targeted advertising are widening. Fast-food ad spending on Spanish-language television spiked, with a 33% increase from 2012 levels. Black youth viewed 75% more fast food ads than their white peers, up from a 60% difference found in 2012, even as TV viewership among all youth is down. On both Spanish-language and Black-targeted TV programming, restaurants advertised their low-cost large-portion value menu items and meal deals disproportionately more than on other types of programming, and no healthy menu items were advertised on Spanish-language TV.

"Fast-food consumption by children and teens has increased over the past decade, and fast-food advertising definitely plays a role in that rise," says Jennifer Harris, Senior Research Advisor for Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center, and a co-author of the study. "Our findings show that these advertisements disproportionately target Black and Hispanic youth, groups who already face greater risk for obesity and other diet-related diseases. Moreover, many fast-food companies tout recent introductions of healthier menu items as evidence of their commitment to improving nutrition, but they rarely promote these items in their advertising."

More than 1 in 3 children eat fast-food on a given day in the United States. Fast-food restaurants have pledged to introduce healthier items on their regular menus and healthier drinks and sides to their kids' meals, but another recent study from the Rudd Center found these voluntary policies have little effect on purchases of kids' meals over regular menu items and selection of healthier kids' beverages. This new study shows these purchasing patterns mirror the ads children see, with the vast majority of ads viewed by children promoting less healthy and higher portion items on their regular menus.

"Less time in front of TV screens is not protecting kids from fast-food TV ads," says Frances Fleming-Milici, Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center and a co-author of the study. "Now more than ever, parents need support in raising healthy children, and consistent exposure to ads featuring burgers, fries, and pizza sabotages their best efforts. Media companies, policymakers, and advocates can play a vital role in demanding an end to irresponsible advertising."

The study analyzed 2019 Nielsen data covering advertising spending and TV advertising exposure for 274 fast-food restaurants, including detailed analyses of the 27 top fast-food advertisers with the highest annual advertising spending and/or that targeted TV advertising to children, Hispanic, and/or Black consumers. The Rudd Center produces annual FACTS reports on the state of food and beverage advertising aimed at children, teens and Black and Hispanic youth. This study is a follow up to the Rudd Center's 2013 Fast-Food FACTS report.

The authors of the study make recommendations on concrete steps fast-food restaurants can take to limit such marketing, such as expanding voluntary industry self-regulation to restrict unhealthy food advertising to children up to age 14 at a minimum, discontinuing ads for regular menu items on children's TV channels and ending disproportionately high marketing to Latino and Black youth. They also offer suggestions for actions that federal, state and local governments can take such as creating nutrition standards for kids' meals and eliminating unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children as a tax-deductible expense. Lastly, their recommendations include how public health advocates and practitioners can push for changes to these marketing practices.
The full report can be read here. This study was funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

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Rudd Center: New Study Finds Fast-Food Companies Spending More on Advertising, Disproportionately Targeting Black and Latino Youth - UConn Today

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The UConn Rudd Center has found that fast-food companies are disproportionately targeting Black and Latino youth with advertisements.

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Targeted food marketing to children works. That's why food and beverage companies spend $1.8 billion each year marketing food brands and products to children as young as 2 years old. Unfortunately, that investment is not being used to sell healthful foods like fruits and vegetables to our youngest community members. Fully 84 percent of the ads viewed by children promote foods that are high in saturated fat, trans fats, sugars, or sodium, according to a 2013 study.

The food industry targets children with marketing in a variety of settings including television, the Internet, online games, sports/concert sponsorships, through kids' apps, on children's clothing, via branded toys, and through fast food toy giveaways. Children are also exposed to targeted food marketing in their schools, on food packaging, in stores, and in places where kids congregate such as parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers.

Food companies use cartoon characters like SpongeBob SquarePants and Spiderman in their marketing to appeal to children, and often select spokespersons that children idolize, such as Beyoncé and Selena Gomez.

Unhealthy foods and food brands that are relentlessly marketed to children can influence their food preferences for a lifetime. The marketing can trigger family tension when children nag parents to purchase unhealthy foods they've seen advertised. When food companies target kids, it undermines parents' efforts to teach their children good eating habits and encourages poor nutrition, which can lead to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases.

In 2006, food and beverage companies formed the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, "to shift the mix of advertising primarily directed to children ('child-directed advertising') to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles." The CFBAI is a voluntary self-regulation program comprising 18 large food and beverage companies and has created and implemented its own nutrition criteria for what can and can't be marketed to children. This initiative has resulted in modest improvements. However, two thirds of food companies, restaurants, and media companies have no policy to limit junk food marketing to kids. And, very few retailers have implemented food-marketing policies to protect children.

A July, 2016 report found that 2015 marked the first year since CFBAI implementation that children viewed fewer food and beverage TV ads than they viewed in 2007. "However," the report said, "this reduction was small (just 3%). ... Fast food restaurants remained the most advertised category, and youth exposure to ads for carbonated beverages and candy has increased by more than 50% compared to 2007. ... These findings may partially reflect declines in TV viewing overall. Furthermore, youth are likely viewing additional ads on mobile platforms such as cell phones and tablets. Despite food industry promises, TV food advertising to youth continues to encourage the consumption of foods and beverages high in calories, fat, and sugar."

In 2009, Congress directed the Interagency Working Group (IWG), comprising the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop model, voluntary recommendations for food marketing to children. Two years later, the IWG proposed voluntary, science-based nutrition standards that are much stronger than the nutrition standards set by the CFBAI. The food and beverage industry intensively lobbied Congress in opposition to the proposed IWG standards and successfully derailed the model, voluntary program.
The proposed standards included two principles:
Principle A-Foods marketed to children should provide a meaningful contribution to a healthful diet and should contain contributions from the following food groups: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk products, fish, extra lean meat or poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds, or beans.

Principle B-Foods marketed to children should be formulated to minimize the content of nutrients that could have a negative impact on health or weight. With the exception of nutrients naturally occurring in food contributions under Principle A, foods marketed to children should contain limited amounts of saturated fat, trans fats, sugar, and sodium.
Other policies that would reduce food and beverage marketing to children include:

Prohibiting the sale of low-nutrition foods and beverages in zoos, children's museums, boys and girls clubs, athletic venues, and other settings frequented by children.

Restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in schools, food and convenience stores, fast food and other restaurants.

Set nutrition standards for restaurant kids' meals.

Remove sugary drinks from kids' meals.

Set nutrition standards for restaurant kids' meals sold with toys.

Require store checkout areas to be free of candy, sugary drinks, and other low-nutrition foods.

The Food Marketing Workgroup provides policy ideas and updates on campaigns against food marketing to children, and other information.

The UConn Rudd Center for Food and Obesity tracks industry advertising to kids, provides policy ideas, research and tools, and other information.

View the 2011, science-based, Interagency Working Group on Food Marketed to Children report, Preliminary Proposed Nutrition Principles to Guide Industry Self-Regulatory Efforts.
FAQ-What does the First Amendment have to do with government action on food marketing to children?
Actions taken by other countries on food marketing to children

While efforts have stalled in the United States to implement science-based federal standards for marketing to children, other countries have proposed or enacted legislation to restrict it, including:

Banning fast food marketing aimed at children under the age of 13 in print and electronic media.

Restricting advertising that targets children under the age of 14 for foods considered high in calories, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.

Banning the use of cartoons or toys when marketing unhealthy food.

Requiring educational labeling on advertisements for products containing added fats, sweeteners, or sodium, including a message explaining dietary principles.

Learn about efforts in Canada, Chile, France, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom Learn about World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children.

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Targeted food marketing to children works. That's why food and beverage companies spend $1.8 billion each year marketing food brands and products to children as young as 2 years old. Unfortunately, that investment is not being used to sell healthful foods like fruits and vegetables to our youngest community members.

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Young people from the campaign group Bite Back 2030 outline the best ways of making sensible eating the norm for their generation

A new healthy eating campaign steered by a group of teenage activists, Bite Back 2030 (www.biteback2030.com), has just been launched in a bid to give all young people the opportunity to be healthy, no matter where they live, and halve childhood obesity by 2030.

Christina Adane (15), co-chair of the Bite Back Youth Board, says: "I think we are exploited all the time and we don't even know it. We're an easy target.

"In the short-term, yeah sure we're happy eating unhealthy stuff, but that's going to knock years off our lifespan and cause so many health problems."

The youth board has written an open letter to influencers, which points out that children who saw popular vloggers with sugary and fatty snacks went on to eat 26% more calories than those who didn't.

It's not just children, of course, who find healthy food hard to come by - new research by Mintel found that more than half (54%) of parents of under-18s find it difficult to ensure their child eats a well-balanced healthy diet.

The letter pleads: "Let's not sugar-coat this - junk food is being given a starring role in our minds by people like you, and our health is at risk as a result.

"We want you to pledge to STOP posting ads for fast food online. It's not right that you're paid to promote a lie when you have the power to tell the truth.

"We are asking you to use your influence to have a positive impact on thousands of young people, to use your stories to put healthy eating in the spotlight.

"We are asking you to use your feed to feed your followers healthier options.

"Together we can give future generations the best chance to live healthy and happy lives."

Bite Back 2030 has many well-known ambassadors, including chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver, YouTube star Mia Fizz, A&E doctor and former Love Island contestant Dr Alex George and footballer Chris Smalling, who says: "I think if people are more conscious on their platforms, then ultimately the bigger companies will follow suit. People have to start making stands because we have that responsibility."

Here, Bite Back 2030 shares five easy ways to give healthy food a starring role in young minds:

1. Shout loudly about celebrities who say no to promoting junk food

New research commissioned by Bite Back 2030 found over two-thirds of children (70%) would be enticed to try a new food or drink by brand marketing.

2. Put healthier products in the spotlight in stores

Where are all the price promotions on healthy food? Our high streets, supermarket shelves and school canteens are flooded with unhealthy options.

3. Make food labelling easy to understand

Introduce clear, consistent and mandatory labelling on food and drink. Diabetes UK found nine out of 10 people agreed traffic light nutrition labelling helps us make informed decisions about the food we buy. Why don't we have world-leading nutritional information on every product to help and empower parents and kids alike? And why don't we have labelling fit for kids on kids' products, instead of using a system that's meant for adults?

4. Use cartoon characters for good

We want to see pester power being used as a force for good by only using licensed characters to promote products that aren't high in saturated fat, sugar or salt. Action on Sugar and Action on Salt found half of the 526 products featuring animated characters on their packets were so unhealthy they wouldn't be allowed to be advertised during children's TV!

5. Better access to drinking water in public places and schools

Keep Britain Tidy has found more than three-quarters (78%) of people want greater availability of free tap water in public spaces. How about more appealing water fountains on our high streets, in restaurants and public buildings?

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Although many of today's children eat unhealthily and are overweight, it has always been adults who've highlighted the problem and shouted about tackling it, but not anymore.

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DEFEATING THE FLOOD OF JUNK FOOD ADS IN TOWER HAMLETS — A STORY OF YOUTH POWER

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DEFEATING THE FLOOD OF JUNK FOOD ADS IN TOWER HAMLETS — A STORY OF YOUTH POWER

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Back in 2022, our Youth Board set out on a mission - to expose the flood of junk food ads infiltrating our lives.

First, we took to the streets to collect evidence of the problem - which wasn't hard to find. With posters of soda, shakes, and sugar-filled snacks flooding our streets.

The next stage involved presenting this evidence to local councillors by writing a letter they couldn't ignore, highlighting just how important it is for councils to take action. Bite Back's youth campaigners used their words, art, and creativity to publish a manifesto.

Our message couldn't have been clearer: We were fed up.
We made our opinions heard in meetings with the Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets and the Tower Hamlets Youth Council, inspiring people to stand up and face the junk food villain face-to-face. After a year of relentless campaigning, our work has finally paid off.

In June, Tower Hamlets announced that they're implementing a policy restricting the amount of junk food ads in their borough!
This is a win not only for us, but for all young people.
I've been involved in this campaign for almost a year, and during this time, I've helped to draft letters to MPs, and raised awareness about the negative impacts of junk food marketing to the Tower Hamlets Youth Council. When I heard the news that Tower Hamlets agreed to pass this policy, I felt as though our work had a purpose.

Long-term campaigning can sometimes feel like you're trying to travel along a never-ending road, without knowing exactly where you will end up. Along the way, you can often face resistance: from politicians who refuse to take action, to your friends at school who are so bombarded by junk food ads that they don't question them.

But the journey all becomes worth it when we receive news like this. Our struggles weren't in vain, rather they were a stepping stone to a better destination. To a world we'd only ever imagined; a society which champions child health.

Our world needs changing, and who better to lead the change than us young people. It's our health that's being affected, and we deserve a say.
Mia

Youth Board Activist

So even when things are moving slowly, I maintain momentum by remembering why I started campaigning in the first place. Our world needs changing, and who better to lead the change than us young people. It's our health that's being affected, and we deserve a say.

When people think of campaigning, they often envision big protests and colourful banners. But it doesn't always look like this. Sometimes, signing petitions, writing letters, and holding meetings are more powerful than taking to the streets.

Part of the movement at Bite Back is about empowering young people to view their own voices as their biggest weapon. Even though we're young, we still have the power to influence big policy makers, and our success in Tower Hamlets is evidence of this. It's time that young people are involved in the fight for change; we need to start inviting ourselves into the room. Only then can we begin to see a better future which amplifies youth voices.
This big win for us is only the beginning.
We hope to see more councils taking accountability for child health in their areas by following in Tower Hamlets' footsteps and implementing restrictions against junk food advertising. It is an inescapable fact that the junk food posters lining our streets are jeopardising young peoples' health. Junk food advertising works. Why else would companies spend so much on it? The first step towards a healthier future is to close the floodgates allowing junk food to dominate our high streets.

We're calling for you, as supporters of our campaign, to continue pledging your support by signing our petitions, celebrating our wins, and recognising that every action is a step towards a brighter future, no matter how small it may seem.
You never know what you can achieve until you achieve it - and every voice holds power.

You never know what you can achieve until you achieve it - and every voice holds power.
Mia

Youth Board Activist

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Defeating the Flood of Junk Food Ads in Tower Hamlets - A Story of Youth Power - Bite Back

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A story about our journey to securing a win by Tower Hamlets agreeing to implement a policy restricting the amount of junk food ads in their borough.

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COMMUNITY FOOD CHAMPIONS ARE LEADING CHANGE

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COMMUNITY FOOD CHAMPIONS ARE LEADING CHANGE

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Hi, I'm Emmanuel. I live in Wakefield and I've been on the Bite Back Youth Board for the last year. A few months ago, I met some of our newest campaigners from our Community Food Champions programme when I went to their pitch event in Hull and I wanted to tell you a little about what they've been up to.

Community Food Champions offers passionate young activists the opportunity to be a part of leading the change in their own communities. Through the programme, teams of community groups were asked to come up with their own campaign ideas that they would then implement in their local area. The groups with the best campaigns were awarded a sum of money as a campaign budget to help them implement these ideas and strategies.

This programme is so unique and so important not just for child health in the UK, but also for the next generation of young leaders, activists and change makers who may not always be aware of the power they hold. I am personally a big believer in the idea that in order to be an activist you simply have to want to make change. As young people in our imperfect world, subjected to a food system that doesn't prioritise our health, it is so important that we take an all hands on deck approach to protecting child health. This is going to take all young people from all backgrounds to speak up and fight if we truly want things to change. So the opportunity that Community Food Champions offers to young activists to get involved in making their communities better is vital in changing our food system for the better.

To watch the journey of each of these groups and their change-makers was inspiring and it honestly gave me the push I needed to keep being persistent even in a world where change can sometimes feel so far away. It was such an amazing feeling watching them through the process, realising that as young people they have the power to make change and then going on to put their power, creativity and wonderful ideas to good use.

These champions are now going to use the money they have been awarded and focus on bettering their communities. Because these young people are from these communities and feel the effects of the food system every day they are the best people to campaign for change in their areas. Their ideas are practical and aim to tackle issues affecting the health of all young people in their communities. Their growth has been tremendous and I cannot wait to see the change they bring about in their areas and watch them continue to champion change in their communities in the future.

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Community Food Champions Are Leading Change - Bite Back

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Youth Board member Emmanuel tells us about his meeting with Community Food Champion campaigners in his local area.

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Over the past four weeks, we have welcomed hundreds of fantastic young people to the Bite Back movement, as we launched Community Food Champions across the country! Community Food Champions is our newest programme, which uses youth work to drive grassroots change to help ensure all young people, no matter where they live, have access to healthy, nutritious food.

Over 750 young people will take part across six locations - Peterborough, Leeds, London, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle. They'll work in groups with their youth workers to find out what's going on in their local communities and what changes they would like to see to make it easier to eat healthily. But it won't end there! Our Community Food Champions will create a big impact, designing and running social action campaigns to achieve these changes, talking to local political and business leaders who can support their goals.

Across the four launch events in Peterborough, Leeds, London and Newcastle, groups came together with their youth workers and with the Bite Back and UK Youth teams to build excitement and learn about Bite Back and our mission as well as to have an opportunity for activities, fun and food! It was also a chance for these new recruits to hear from some of the brilliant experienced young campaigners from Bite Back, to inspire the Community Food Champions as they set off on their own journeys to transform the food system in their communities.

Alex, age 17, has been a campaigner with Bite Back 2030 since 2020 and joined us in Leeds - here's what he had to say about the event:

The Community Food Champions event was amazing. It was such a fantastic opportunity to meet young people from a wide range of different backgrounds that all share the same common goal. Removing junk food from deprived communities and making healthy food the priority.
Alex

Youth Board Activist

What's next?
After the launch events the groups will go through a series of workshops that will help them understand more about the impact of the lack of access to healthy food in their communities. As part of these workshops they'll keep a food diary showing us what young people today eat and visit local food shops in their area to log the prices of some basic staple items.

We know that the prices of food and drink change enormously depending on where we live - and this isn't fair. With the help of the insights from our Community Food Champions we want to create a nationwide report showing how young people's access to healthy food is impacted by price, especially as the cost of living rises.

In November, we'll come back together for pitch events across the country, where our Community Food Champions will present their insights and campaign plans to an audience of local political leaders, business owners and creatives. The groups will receive feedback on their plans as well as the chance to secure additional funding to bring their idea to life. Following the pitch event, £500 will be awarded to allow some of the groups to bring their ideas to life - developing and implementing their campaigns and create impact in their local community.

Bite Back and UK Youth staff will guide and support the youth organisations and groups over nine months to help them to achieve their campaign goals. The campaigns rolled out will vary from group to group, depending on the issues identified in each group's local community. We will share more on Community Food Champions and the exciting campaign ideas being developed very - so stay tuned!
The Community Food Champions programme is run in partnership with UK Youth, and it is funded by the #iwill Fund (a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) and Impact on Urban Health.

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Over 750 Young People Join Community Food Champions - Bite Back

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A tidal-wave of young people from all over the country joined Bite Back in 4 successful launch events as Community Food Champions back in 2022. Read on to find out more about what went down at these events!

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Haile Thomas is not your typical Gen Z teenager. The 18-year-old activist, health coach, vegan chef, and public speaker became the CEO of her nonprofit organization, Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth (HAPPY), when she was just 12 years old, inspired by witnessing her father fight off Type 2 diabetes with healthy eating and exercise. Since then, HAPPY has reached more than 15,000 children through programs in elementary and middle schools from New York City to Dubai.

With encouragement from her mother, Charmaine, Thomas started cooking from a very early age. "I learned to cook really early based on my upbringing," says Charmaine of her Jamaican childhood. "So it was a natural thing for Haile to be in the kitchen. By the time she was eight, she was able to cook full-blown meals on her own. Once I had the confidence that she wasn't going to cut her fingers off, she was free to do whatever she wanted to, and it instilled in her a lot of confidence in her ability."

When Thomas's father was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was 10, her family made some big lifestyle changes, shunning processed foods and banning unhealthy ingredients from their kitchen. These adjustments lead to the reversal of her father's disease, and the transformation inspired Thomas to spread the gospel of a healthy lifestyle.

HAPPY first started in the Thomas' hometown of Tucson, Arizona, in 2012. In its first iteration, Thomas and her mom hosted programs at the local YWCA, honing their curriculum with children in a daycare program while their parents took GED courses at the community center. "We saw a huge opportunity to work with these kids who were just sort of there, not doing anything, and have them do cooking classes with us," says Thomas. "That was our foundation and where we gained a lot of our early experience."

After a few years, the duo expanded their offerings to include a summer camp, also hosted at the local YWCA. Helped by volunteers and supplemented by community wellness leaders, the early version of HAPPY looked a lot like a basic nutrition class. Over the years, Thomas shifted programming to focus on promoting plant-based eating. "Kids have a horrible perception of vegetables, so we really wanted to change that specifically and show them the benefits and how they can taste good," explains Thomas.

Inspired by organizations including Edible Schoolyard and Harlem Grown, HAPPY uses its own distinct voice and style of teaching to connect with students. "We're coming from a unique perspective of a peer-to-peer learning experience," says Thomas. "We want to make sure that we maintain that authentic feel and more of a Gen Z-centric perspective. We never do lecture-style classes-it always has to be super interactive and high-energy so that kids won't feel like they're bored or confused."

Funded by Morton Salt and a grant from the Clif Bar Family Foundation (which has also funded Civil Eats in the past), HAPPY aims to prevent diet-related illnesses including cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes in children and teens, as well as avoid the social costs which are associated, including low self-esteem and social discrimination. By working in underserved and at-risk communities across the globe, HAPPY aims to empower its audiences to make healthy lifestyle choices and minimize the occurrence of preventable health issues.

In 2017, Thomas and her family moved from Tucson to Chester, New York, a small town 60 miles north of New York City. "We got an opportunity to expand our programs in the New York area by partnering with the nonprofit Harlem Grown," says Thomas. "Even though Tucson is beautiful and has amazing people there, it's very laid-back and slow-paced. So for us to fully maximize our efforts, we thought moving to New York would be our best choice."

With all these activities and a reach of 15,000 students and counting, some may be surprised to learn that the organization still only consists of Thomas, her mother, and a handful of volunteers. Despite the small team, her work and her mission have already earned a lot of attention from big media outlets, including The Today Show, Food Network, and . In 2017, CNN named her a Young Wonder, and Michelle Obama, for whom Thomas cooked at the White House, said, "Haile is an example for all of you, what your little powerful voices can do to change the world."

Teaching Healthy Eating Habits

A typical HAPPY program involves anywhere from a half-day to three days of activities at an elementary or middle school. Thomas starts with a general assembly, where she shares her personal story and asks the kids about their cooking habits at home and if any of their family members have food-related illnesses. The students then break out into smaller groups, and Thomas takes them through nutrition games and cooking demos to bring the topics to life.

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Meet the 18-Year-Old Entrepreneur Fixing Food for Gen Z

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Haile Thomas is not your typical Gen Z teenager. The 18-year-old activist, health coach, vegan chef, and public speaker became the CEO of her nonprofit organization, Healthy Active Positive Purposeful Youth (HAPPY), when she was just 12 years old, inspired by witnessing her father fight off Type 2 diabetes with healthy eating and exercise.

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A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and other conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and many people do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.

Diet can depend on an individual's food choices, but also the availability and affordability of healthy foods and sociocultural factors. Therefore, promoting a healthy food environment requires involvement across multiple sectors and stakeholders, including government, the public and the private sector.

Governments have a central role in creating a healthy food environment that enables people to easily adopt and maintain healthy dietary practices. Effective actions by policy-makers include:

Coordinating trade, food system and agricultural policies with the protection and promotion of public health;

Encouraging consumers' demand for healthy foods and meals; and

Promoting healthy nutrition across the life course.

The WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was adopted in 2004 by the World Health Assembly. It called on governments, WHO, international partners, the private sector and civil society to take action at global, regional and local levels to support healthy diets and physical activity. WHO Member States have also agreed to reduce the global population's intake of salt by 30% by 2025; and to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025.

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A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and other conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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It’s National School Lunch Week. Learn what schools can do to promote healthy eating. #CDCHealthySchools #NSLW22

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Make healthy food affordable and easy to access

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Make healthy food affordable and easy to access

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More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These communities are known as "food deserts" since they lack access to affordable, nutritious food. Lack of access is one reason why many children are not eating recommended levels of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Food insecurity and hunger among children is widespread. A recent USDA report showed that in 2008, an estimated 49 million people, including 17 million children, lived in households that experienced hunger multiple times throughout the year. Let's Move! to ensure that all families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities.

In our effort to fight obesity in children and adolescents, it is important that we focus on increasing access to healthy and affordable foods. Here are some ways that cities and towns can play an important role in providing access to affordable and healthy food options through activities such as the following:

Establish a Food Policy Council

Increase enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Support the sale of local foods across the community by offering incentives and encouraging the establishment of farmers' markets.

Promote policies that support and protect community gardens.

Pass food policies that require food and beverages purchased with government funds to meet certain nutrition standards.

Require access to free and safe drinking water in public places.

Ensure that residents can access healthy and affordable food through public transportation-by realigning bus routes, providing free shuttles, or other means.

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Make Healthy Food Affordable and Accessible

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More than 23 million Americans, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income urban and rural neighborhoods that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These communities are known as "food deserts" since they lack access to affordable, nutritious food. Lack of access is one reason why many children are not eating recommended levels of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

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Think fast when kids want fast food - Harvard Health

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An army of nutrition experts is constantly reminding us that most fast food is bad for health. But they’re not around to back you up when your children or grandchildren unleash powerful weapo...

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stronger policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing

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stronger policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing

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WHO has released a new guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing. The guideline recommends countries implement comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt (HFSS).

More than 10 years after Member States endorsed WHO's recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in 2010, children continue to be exposed to powerful marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, consumption of which is associated with negative health effects.

The updated recommendation is based on the findings of reviews of recent evidence, including how exposure to and the power of food marketing affects children's health, eating behaviours, and food-related attitudes and beliefs. In short, food marketing remains a threat to public health and continues to negatively affect children's food choices, intended choices and their dietary intake. It also negatively influences the development of children's norms about food consumption.

The recommendation is also based on a systematic review of the evidence on policies to restrict food marketing, including on contextual factors. Policies to restrict food marketing suggests are shown to be most effective if they: are mandatory; protect children of all ages; use a government-led nutrient profile model to classify foods to be restricted from marketing; and are sufficiently comprehensive to minimize the risk of migration of marketing to other age groups, other spaces within the same medium or to other media, including digital spaces. 'Restricting the power of food marketing to persuade' is also impactful, which involves limiting the use of cartoons or techniques that appeal to children, such as including toys with products, advertising with songs, and celebrity endorsements.

Considering this evidence, WHO now recommends mandatory regulation of marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, having previously made more allowances for a range of policy approaches. Another change is the guideline's use of the definition of a child from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to be unequivocal that policies should protect all children. Two other updates are recommendations for: countries to use a nutrient profile model, which governments lead the development of; and adopting policies comprehensive enough to minimize intra and inter-medium migration to avoid restrictions on marketing in regulated channels or settings.

"Aggressive and pervasive marketing of foods and beverages high in fats, sugars and salt to children is responsible for unhealthy dietary choices," says Dr Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety of WHO. "Calls to responsible marketing practices have not had a meaningful impact. Governments should establish strong and comprehensive regulations."

Policy decisions based on this guideline should be adapted to the local contexts of WHO regions and Member States. Adoption of the recommendation and adaptation to country contexts require local consultations, with mechanisms in place to safeguard public health policy-making from undue influence by real, perceived or potential conflicts of interest.

Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing are best implemented as part of a comprehensive policy approach to create enabling and supportive food environments. Consequently, this guideline is part of a suite of forthcoming guidelines on food environment policies. All of these guidelines aim to support governments in creating healthy food environments to facilitate healthy dietary decisions, establish lifelong healthy eating habits, improve dietary quality and decrease the risk of noncommunicable diseases worldwide.

TheWHO guideline on Policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing will be available from 03 July 2023, 12:30 pm CEST.

To access the guideline, click HERE

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WHO recommends stronger policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing

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WHO has released a new guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing. The guideline recommends countries implement comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt (HFSS).

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Taking Action to Protect Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing

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Taking Action to Protect Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing

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About

Food marketing is pervasive and persuasive. It reaches our children where they live, learn, eat, play and meet - both online and in real life. It negatively affects children's food preferences, purchase decisions and consumption behaviours, ultimately contributing to childhood obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

This UNICEF-WHO toolkit - Taking Action to Protect Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing: A Child Rights-based Approach - aims to guide governments and partners to introduce legal measures that are fit for restricting food marketing to children. It supports governments to take action using a child rights perspective and complements WHO's recent Guideline on policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing and UNICEF's Child rights-based approach to food marketing: A guide for policy-makers.

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Taking Action to Protect Children from the Harmful Impact of Food Marketing

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Food marketing is pervasive and persuasive. It reaches our children where they live, learn, eat, play and meet - both online and in real life. It negatively affects children's food preferences, purchase decisions and consumption behaviours, ultimately contributing to childhood obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

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Australian children see and interact with a large number of promotions for unhealthy foods that come from a variety of sources. Australian children of 5 to 8-years-old are exposed to at least 827 unhealthy food advertisements on television each year. Australian adolescents are exposed to almost 100 promotions each week coming from online sources. The majority of food and drink advertisements near schools and on children's journeys to schools feature unhealthy products. A study from Perth showed that schools have an average of 36 food advertisements within 500 m of the grounds. There is also evidence of a social inequality in the marketing of unhealthy foods in Australia. More food advertisements and a higher proportion of unhealthy food advertisements are found near schools in lower socioeconomic areas. The highest proportion of advertisements for unhealthy foods in Australian train stations occurs in areas with the lowest socioeconomic status.

Food marketing takes advantage of the developmental vulnerabilities of children and adolescents. When viewing television, for example, children younger than about 5 years are unable to tell the difference between a program and an advertisement. Even older children who can identify advertising lack the cognitive skills and experience to critically interpret marketing messages. Adolescent brains are biased towards rewards and they are more likely to respond to cues in the environment, such as marketing. When rating the riskiness of everyday situations, young adolescents are heavily influenced by the opinions of their peers, suggesting they place high importance on conformity.

Unhealthy food marketing targets children as consumers in their own right, and as intermediaries who can influence other consumers, particularly their parents ('pester power') and peers.

Researchers have described a "cascade of effects" in which exposure to unhealthy food marketing influences children's brand awareness and preferences, and consequent purchases and consumption.Exposure to unhealthy food advertisements increases food intake in children. For example, an Australian study showed that children aged 7 to 12 years increased food intake following exposure to unhealthy food marketing, and did not compensate for this by reducing food intake at a subsequent meal.How often children consume unhealthy foods may be associated with the level of emotional arousal (positive feelings of happiness and satisfaction) that they experience after exposure to marketing.

Television advertising of unhealthy food

Commercial television viewing is independently associated with obesity in children (not just because it is a sedentary activity) and researchers conclude this link is likely due to advertising of unhealthy foods. The promotion of unhealthy products not only encourages brand switching within a product category but increases consumption of particular categories of foods including fast food and soft drinks. It attracts new customers and establishes societal norms around acceptable and desirable foods.

Studies from many countries have shown that marketing of unhealthy foods on television frequently targets children. Internationally, unhealthy food advertisements are more frequent during children's typical viewing times, during school holidays, on children's channels and around children's programming. In Australia, unhealthy food and drink advertisements are more common during children's peak viewing times, but less common during school holidays. A wide range of creative strategies are used that are likely to appeal to young people. These include celebrity endorsements, animations and promotional characters. International studies of television and other media have shown that these creative strategies were more common in the marketing of food to children than to adults.

A study of English children aged 6 to 13 years found that children had a greater preference for high-fat and high-carbohydrate foods (both branded and unbranded) after being exposed to food advertisements, compared to when the same children were shown control advertisements on a separate occasion. The effect was greatest in children who had high regular levels of television viewing.

Researchers have calculated that the average Australian 5 to 8-year-old, who watches around 80 minutes of television each day, is exposed to at least 827 advertisements or four hours of unhealthy food advertising on television each year. An Australian study of children aged 10 to 16 years found exposure to television advertising - not just the amount of time spent watching television - was associated with increased consumption of unhealthy food and drinks. The study found that the link between television viewing and poor diet was strongest for children who watched the most commercial television and were exposed to advertisements at the time of broadcast or did not skip through advertisements in television recordings. Australian children with a lower socioeconomic position are more likely to watch television and for longer periods of time than those with a higher socioeconomic position.

Online marketing of unhealthy food

Digital marketing is becoming an increasingly important tool to market unhealthy food to children and teenagers. On a typical weekday, Australian 15-year-olds spend about two hours online when they are not at school, and a quarter of them are online for more than four hours. Research by the Australian Communications and Media Authority involving children aged 8 to 17 found children spend longer periods of time online as they grow older. Digital media becomes central to their lives, particularly through social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

Australian adolescents spend increasingly large amounts of time online. This time is spent on activities such as watching videos or online streaming services, using social media, gaming, listening to music and talking with friends using services such as Discord. Unhealthy food marketers can take advantage of these trends to target children and teenagers using digital media in various ways, including through advertisements, product placement, influencer marketing, brand owned content and branded apps and 'advergames' created or sponsored by companies to embed products into a game. Marketing on social media encourages teenagers to like and share brand posts with their friends, thereby harnessing the influence of peer networks.

A recent study of Australian children aged 10 to 16 years found that watching food-branded video content on YouTube and seeing favourite food brands advertised online were significantly associated with higher consumption of unhealthy food and drinks. A UK study found an increased intake of unhealthy snacks among children who viewed images of social media 'influencers' with unhealthy snacks on Instagram, compared to children who had viewed images of influencers with healthy snacks or non-food products.

A US study found that playing food-branded 'advergames' increased children's consumption of unhealthy snack foods, compared to playing advergames featuring healthy foods and non-food advergames. Within advergames, the technique of 'rewarded video advertising' in which players are shown an ad before progressing to a new level has been shown to be particularly effective. An Australian study of children aged 7 to 12 found that children exposed to rewarded video advertising within an advergame chose the promoted brand significantly more than children in other arms of the study, when offered a choice of snacks afterwards. Children exposed to the rewarded video advertising were far more likely to choose the promoted brand even compared to children who played an advergame with the promoted brand included as high-value game pieces, highlighting the sophisticated nature of advertising techniques being used to market unhealthy food to children online.

Other marketing of unhealthy food

While television and online advertising of unhealthy food to children forms a large part of the evidence base for the impact of advertising on children, the effect of other types of marketing has also been studied. Product packaging that includes the presence of cartoon characters has been found to influence taste perceptions in young children. In one US study of children aged 4 to 6 years they believed a product with a cartoon character tasted better than the same food in a package without the character. In another US study, children aged 3 to 5 years tasted identical pairs of food and drink but felt they tasted better if they were in McDonald's branded packaging.

Collectible toys are another means of altering children's food preferences, and research has shown they can be used to encourage healthy choices. A US study of children aged 3 to 5 years found a collectible toy increased preference for unhealthy meals, but had the same effect when paired with healthy meals. A similar Australian study of 5 to 9-year-olds found children were significantly more likely to select a healthier meal over an unhealthy meal when only the healthier meals were accompanied by a collectible toy.

Sports sponsorship also has an effect on children's preferences. An Australian study of 10 to 14-year-olds involved in local sport found high awareness of their clubs' sponsors, particularly when they were food and beverage companies. A majority of children in the study thought their club's food and beverage sponsors were 'cool', and liked to return the favour to these sponsors by buying their products. Many of the children had received a voucher from a food or beverage company to reward good sport performance (86%), or a sporting certificate displaying a food or beverage company logo (76%).

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Impact of unhealthy food marketing on children | Obesity Evidence Hub

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Unhealthy food marketing through advertising on television, digital media content, sports sponsorship, product packaging and collectible toys, takes advantage of the developmental vulnerabilities of children and adolescents.

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A STUDENT-LED event from the University of Chester designed to educate people about nutrition and healthy lifestyles will take place tomorrow (Wednesday, February 7).

The annual Nutrition Fair will be held in Small Hall on the Exton site from 11am until 1pm and is open to the public.

Hosted, by the University's Clinical Sciences and Nutrition team, final year undergraduate students studying Nutrition and Exercise, Human Nutrition and Dietetics will host individual stall to promote and educate visitors on topics like bone health, sugar consumption, coeliac disease awareness and more.

Stalls will include the likes of: 'Frugal Foodies'; aimed at helping students to eat healthy whilst budgeting, 'Sugar Smart Kids'; promoting good dental hygiene for children aged from one and a half to ten years old through reducing sugar intake, and 'How Much is on Your Plate?'; educating people about recommended portion sizes and how to put together a balanced plate.

The fair will also be accompanied by an online platform where students have shared digital resources on their chosen topics.

Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Health, Seóna Dunne said: "I'm so proud of the work the students have put in to bringing fantastic useful advice through fun and practical sessions to inspire anyone wanting to learn more about how to improve their health through diet and nutrition."

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Student fair aims to promote better nutrition and healthy lifestyles

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A STUDENT-LED event from the University of Chester designed to educate people about nutrition and healthy lifestyles will take place tomorrow...

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From salty chips to sugary ice cream cones, the taste of junk food can be oh-so-tempting. Luckily, we've come up with 15 healthy junk food alternatives that will hit the spot and keep you eating healthy and feeling good!

By Brittany Yamamoto-Taylor

May 30, 2018

Summer is around the corner and we all know that means - shorts, tank tops, pool parties, and beach days. Whether you're looking for "bikini body" weight loss tips or simply trying to stay healthy in the midst of summer activities, our healthy junk food recipes can help you out. Check out 15 alternative snacks for weight loss below!

When You're Craving Salty

Potato chips and french fries are classic go-to junk foods that are quick and easy to grab. And they are delicious - there's no getting around that fact. However, chips and fries are very high in fat and starchy carbs, two things that need to be kept in check for a healthy diet. Plus, they are usually deep-fried.

Instead, try baking low-carb vegetables. When you opt for the oven, it is easy to control the amount of oil and salt you use while sticking to healthier veggies.

1. Kale Chips instead of Potato Chips

Replace potato chips with kale chips. Using greens makes your chips have significantly fewer grams of fat and more nutritional value, but still gives you that satisfying crunch. You can even bake your chips in all of your favorite flavors like Classic (oil, salt, and pepper), Sea Salt and Vinegar (self explanatory!), Cheesy (drizzles of vegan cashew cheese or sprinkles of nutritional yeast), or BBQ (paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, brown sugar, and dry mustard).

To replicate the convenience of individual sized bags, portion your healthy chips in little baggies for a crisp and salty treat on the go.

2. Baked Veggie Fries instead of French Fries

Forgo french fries and favor roasted veggie fries. Veggie fries can have the same crispy-yet-soft texture as traditional french fries, but they are so much healthier! Popping veggies in the oven is simple and this way you can get a variety of nutrients from baked carrots, parsnips, and sweet potatoes.

Related

We use a high-heat vegetable roasting method for our oven roasted sweet potato fries! No oil, no deep-frying, just crunchy,... Read more.

Also, when you make fries at home, you can whip up a savory dip that no restaurant chain can rival. Try our community favorite Adobo-Honey Sauce or make your own "aioli" with simple ingredients! Mix mayo, fresh garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon zest, and lemon juice for a Lemon Aioli. Or add a touch of heat by stirring together mayo, chipotle powder, garlic powder, lime juice, and minced cilantro for a Chipotle Aioli.

When You're Craving Sweet

You can get sweets everywhere, which makes them that much harder to resist. The bad news is that the sugar, fat, and carb count in sweets is no joke and definitely not a friend to anyone trying to lose weight or eat healthy. An easy way to enjoy the sweet without compromising on health is to stick with natural sugars (fruits, honey, maple syrup) and find wheat-free options.

3. Yogurt Fruit Pops instead of Ice Cream

Avoid ice cream and embrace fruity frozen yogurt or dark chocolate covered banana pops. Ice cream is not the only way to get your frozen dessert fix. If you're in a creamy mood, mix diced fruit into your favorite yogurt and stick it in the freezer for a couple hours. If you need a little chocolate in your life, dip bananas in melted 80% dark chocolate (or make your own chocolate!) and pop them in the freezer.

The great thing about making your own frozen desserts is that you control the sweetness, and you can make large batches that stay good for months in the freezer.

4. Power Balls > Donuts

Stay away from donut shops in favor of no-bake energy bites. Power balls are super fast to whip up in the kitchen. They are protein-packed and their soft texture can give you the same feeling of eating donut holes.

5. Black Bean Brownies instead of Cakes

Pass up cakes and cupcakes and enjoy flourless black bean brownies instead. Now this may sound a little odd, but we dare you to try making some this weekend! You see, the main thing about brownies is the chocolate, and using the right amount of cocoa powder makes you not even notice the beans.

6. Homemade Smoothies instead of Milkshakes

Run from milkshakes and into the arms of homemade smoothies. When it's hot outside and you are craving a thick cold dessert, turn to the healthy choice of sweet fruits. But, if you're craving a healthy smoothie that tastes more like a traditional milkshake, our Peanut Butter Oat Smoothie is packed with protein and nutrients while maintaining a rich and creamy sweetness. Learn how to make your best-ever smoothies with our free recipe book here:

Recipes

Inspiration for Your Best-Ever Smoothie

Enjoy 4 healthy, delicious smoothie recipes to sweeten up your mornings or give you an energy boost in the afternoons.

7. Chocolate-Dipped Nuts instead of Candy

Instead of eating candy, munch on chocolate-dipped nuts or fruits. The main draw of candy is the texture and combo of flavors. By dipping nuts or fruit in homemade chocolate (or melted dark chocolate if you are short on time!), you can get the flavors and consistencies you really enjoy while cutting out all of the unnatural ingredients pumped into all commercial candies.

If you want a crunch, dip your favorite nuts (you can always dip half-way to reduce calories!) and let them harden in the freezer. If you love chewy candies, use raisins or other dried fruits. If you can't wait for the freezer to do its magic, simply dip fresh fruit in your warm chocolate and call it a day.

8. Fruity Sparkling Water instead of Soda

Say goodbye to soda and hello to sparkling water with fruit. Whether you drink regular or diet sodas, they both have chemicals and dyes that are not good for the body. To get the refreshing satisfaction of a fizzy beverage, lightly crush and mix fresh fruit into sparkling water or squeeze in fruit juice for a naturally sweet drink.

When You're Craving Fast Food

Fast food is often the first thing that comes to mind when you are stressed and want a quick and tasty meal. Unfortunately, picking up food that is fried or carb-heavy is never healthy and won't help you slim down. When you make homemade versions instead, you can skip the deep-fryer, and use much less oil, sodium, and sugar. The great thing is that there are many quick recipes that will get healthy food on the table in a jiffy.

9. Homemade "Fake-Out" instead of Chinese Take-Out

Instead of chowing down on Chinese take-out, cook up your own Chinese food in the kitchen. We have several quick recipes for Chinese-inspired dinners, such as our Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken, General Tso's Chicken or Hot & Sour Soup. All of these recipes have gluten-free, vegetarian, and Paleo options and take less than 40 minutes to prepare (which is about how long it will take to drive to and from your favorite take-out place). If you want some fried rice to go with your meal, simply use cauliflower rice instead!

Video

How to Make Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken

This healthier version of the take-out favorite that usually features deep-fried chicken lightens things up without sacrificing any flavor.

10. Crust-Free Pizza instead of Pizza Delivery

Make pizza without the dough. You can still enjoy all of the saucy and cheesy goodness of pizza without the carbs. Our Pizza-Stuffed Zucchini and Portobello Pizzas are delicious low-carb options that give you way more nutrients than regular pizzas. If you really miss the crust, try out our Radish, Arugula, and Goat Cheese Flatbread. It's chock full of veggies and is about 400 calories per serving.

Video

How to Make Pizza-Stuffed Zucchini

This low-carb take on pizza means you can eat more veggies while still enjoying all the flavors of a good pizza.

11. Bunless Burgers instead of Traditional Burgers

Choose to make your burgers leaner and greener. For a heart-healthy burger, you can easily use a lean meat (turkey, chicken, salmon) or a veggie patty and do away with any cheese. To cut the carbs, swap out the buns for lettuce, portobellos, or sweet potato rounds.

Learn how to make healthy, homemade burger patties and get inspired with 20 of our favorite burger combos with these infographics:

Infographic

Ultimate Burger Guide

Learn all you need to know to build a delicious burger.

Infographic

20 Burger Combos

Enjoy a variety of burgers all year long with our favorite burger combos for every taste.

12. Baked Chicken Wings instead of Fried Chicken Wings

Get your fried chicken fix with healthy tenders or falafel. Our oven-baked Panko-Crusted Chicken Tenders are quick, tasty, and still lets you indulge in crispy goodness without the high fat content of fried foods! Baking falafel is also a terrific way to go when you feel the hankering for a delicious fried meal.

Also, chicken wings are a staple food for kicking back and watching a game, but they really aren't friendly to the waistline. Try our Baked Chicken Wings recipe for a healthier way to enjoy the flavors you know and love.

Video

How to Make Crispy Baked Chicken Wings

Fried chicken wings are a game day favorite and make for a fun meal. Bake them in the oven for a lighter twist and serve in a delicious spicy and savory sauce!

13. Burrito Bowls instead of Burritos

Enjoy burritos without the tortilla. With our Chicken Burrito Bowl, you can go flourless and easily adjust the amount of cheese and sour cream you use. Our Paleo version has around 200 fewer calories because it omits dairy and corn. Our vegetarian version also reduces the calories by swapping out the meat for hearty beans.

When You're Craving Creamy

Sometimes you really just want creamy and savory junk food, and it's hard to find any good ones that are low-fat. Thankfully, there are ways to indulge a little without blowing your diet.

14. Low-Cal Mac & Cheese instead of Traditional Mac & Cheese

Reduce the amount of cheese in your mac & cheese. The days of powdered cheese and fattening sauces can be over! If you replace part of the cheese sauce with pureed butternut squash or sweet potato soup, you will significantly lower the amount of fat in your meal while adding vitamins to your dinner. Try our Stovetop Mac 'N Cheese recipe, which swaps out half of the cheese sauce for healthy pureed butternut squash soup.

15. Healthy Dips instead of Full-Fat Dips

Swap out fattening dips for healthy sauces. It is common for dips to accompany chips, crackers, and veggies, and we admit that it's a great idea. But, instead of having sour cream or cheese-based dips out on the table, opt for tzatziki or even a fresh mango dipping sauce.

Now that you have a list of healthy junk food alternatives, you can be on your way to a fit summer without losing the fun.

Do you have a favorite low-carb snack or favorite junk food substitute that isn't on our list? Add it in the comments below!

As always, we're here to help you live your best and healthiest life in the kitchen, so join our cooking community by signing up for our newsletter below. We'll send you great cooking tips and resources that will help you raise your kitchen IQ and cook with confidence.

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15 Healthy Alternatives to Junk Food | Cook Smarts

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From salty chips to sugary ice cream cones, the taste of junk food can be oh-so-tempting. Luckily, we've come up with 15 healthy junk food alternatives that will hit the spot and keep you eating healthy and feeling good!

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Over several decades, there has been a dramatic shift in the way the world eats, drinks and moves. Globalisation has contributed to multinational companies spreading ultra-processed foods high in fats, sugar and salt into low- and middle-income countries, displacing healthier traditional diets, and bringing with them an increase in diet-related type 2 diabetes. But there are wise and caring leaders doing something about it.

Since 1980, the prevalence of diabetes has quadrupled. This alarming rise is not an isolated phenomenon - it has been accompanied by an equally dramatic change in diet and physical activity. As people move less and diets become dominated by ultra-processed foods and beverages, diabetes, together with obesity and hypertension - two key risk factors for diabetes - are skyrocketing. Today, diabetes is one of the top ten causes of death globally. There are 537 million adults living with diabetes - that's 1 in 10 people. This number is predicted to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 784 million by 2045.

While countries have committed to a globally agreed target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025, the diabetes epidemic continues to worsen, and it's our children in particular who are at significant risk of a sick future. This is especially true of low- and middle-income countries - where over 80% of all deaths from diabetes take place, but this chronic disease is prevalent in every country. Mexico is one of the most worrying cases. About 73% of the Mexican population lives with overweight or obesity - compared to 20% of the population in 1996. Diabetes prevalence has risen in parallel, catapulting the government into action to halt the rise. Many Mexican states are also stepping up to protect their communities with novel initiatives to promote child health.

Bold action in Mexico leads the way

During the summer of 2020, in the southern state of Oaxaca, some Indigenous communities physically blocked roads to trucks delivering processed foods and beverages so that people could return to healthy, traditional diets. Shortly after, the Oaxaca government passed legislation banning the sale of junk food to minors. Tabasco quickly followed suit, and many other states are now preparing to do the same. Mexico's Federal Senate has also been emboldened, recently passing a nation-wide law that will prohibit junk food from being included in school meals and make it illegal to sell junk food in the vicinity of school facilities. The new law will also proactively support the establishment of healthy food outlets, and other countries, like South Africa, are being urged to introduce similar junk food and drink sale bans in schools to promote healthy school environments which nurture children's bodies and brains.

These efforts to reign in the junk food industry's modus operandi is a hard, long-term battle, and implementation of new laws often presents other hurdles, but Mexico has a track record of success in its determination and tenacity when taking bold actions to protect child health, and with patience other jurisdictions are similarly seeing the fruits of their investments NCD prevention. One courageous initiative in particular is producing successes in Mexico and around the world. Over the past decade, more than 50 jurisdictions have introduced taxes on sugary drinks, not only deterring people from buying those harmful products but potentially raising revenue for public health promotion efforts.
*NCD Alliance acknowledges support from Resolve to Save Lives in the production of this video.
Many small wins = big global change

30 countries around the world now require front-of-package labelling for foods high in fats, salt and sugar, with Argentina being the most recent and joining Mexico, Peru, Chile and Uruguay in the region with similar legislations. Front of pack labels are different in every country - for example Chile uses black stop signs, France uses a ranking from A to E, and Australia uses stars - but the effect is the same everywhere: providing consumers with easier to understand information about what is in the food they eat, to help them make healthier choices at the supermarket.

Some countries are also limiting the marketing of unhealthy food products to kids. The United Kingdom, Sweden, South Korea, Taiwan, Chile and Mexico are among those with national policies that limit or prohibit junk food marketing and advertising to protect children. The UK government approved a law that will come into effect in late 2022 banning all TV and online advertising of junk food before 9pm - one of the reasons cited for this powerful new public health measure was that COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of preventing obesity and related disease like type 2 diabetes. Just last month Spain's Minister of Consumer Affairs announced a ban on advertising of junk food targeting children under 16 years of age, reinforced by Barcelona's city Mayor introducing city-wide limits on junk food and drink advertisements in public spaces.

Reducing type 2 diabetes and other diet related NCDs requires every country to do more to promote good nutrition and healthy diets for all. The pandemic has been a wake-up call, and shown that investing in NCD prevention simply can't wait. It's the constellation of circumstance and courageous leadership that will - must - help us save our children from a sick future. Battling the powerful system forces making us sick may feel like a case of David versus Goliath, but we are seeing more and more leaders stepping up to the challenge, committed to promoting and protecting health for all their people - the biggest question now is - who will be the next leader to turn nutrition commitments into the strongest of actions?

About the author

Lucy Westerman (@lewest) is Policy and Campaigns Manager at NCD Alliance. Lucy leads NCD Alliance's NCD prevention and health promotion policy activities, particularly focusing on alcohol, nutrition, physical activity, and cross-cutting issues such as the influence of social, commercial and environmental determinants on health.

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Turning the table: Fighting back against the junk food industry

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In the lead up to World Diabetes Day on 14 November, and Nutrition for Growth Summit in December, this new blog from Lucy Westerman looks at governments taking action to ensure access to healthy diets for kids.

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About one-third of the world's population is overweight or obese, and 62 percent of those individuals live in low- and middle-income countries. As childhood overweight and obesity cases have emerged in developing nations at a rate that is 30 percent higher than in developed countries. An endless supply of junk food, unfettered access to the internet, smart phones, and a waning culture of physical activity have engendered a situation where, more than ever, youth are inactive and gaining weight. In the emerging economies of Brazil, India, and Mexico, governments have aggressively responded through a phalanx of public health measures, ranging from a soda tax to improved food labels and advertising regulations.

Understanding who is at fault for rising obesity is complex. Many have pointed the finger at major soda and ultra-processed food companies. They, however, are only partly to blame. As I discuss in my new book, Junk Food Politics, in today's emerging economies, aspiring political leaders have indirectly contributed to this troublesome situation by partnering with those companies to achieve politically popular anti-hunger and economic campaigns. These partnerships legitimize soda and ultra-processed food companies and send the wrong message to the public.

There is a way forward. Political figures can improve health outcomes by questioning the efficacy of policy partnerships and overcoming their fears of potential food-industry retaliation, such as a withdrawal of political support. Incorporating civil society's voice and influence in government will also improve children's health.

About one-third of the world's population is overweight or obese

Questionable Policy Partnerships

In a context of economic growth and inequality, presidents in several emerging economies have worked with the food industry to help achieve their broader goals of eradicating poverty and hunger, and improving job security.

In Brazil, during President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva's first two terms in office (2003-2010), he showcased his commitment to eliminating hunger and reducing poverty through the (Zero Hunger) program which supported families through diverse strategies including increased employment and ensuring a decent minimum wage, while upholding the normative principle of access to food as a human right. As part of Fome Zero, the Bolsa Familia cash transfer initiative improved low-income families' access to food and health care by requiring that recipients ensure their children receive regular primary care checkups, immunizations, and school attendance. Similarly, from 2012 to 2018, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto was committed to eradicating hunger through his National Crusade Against Hunger campaign. Both presidents' success benefited from their partnerships with major food companies, including Nestle, which supported their programs and provide employment opportunities.

Political leaders have also partnered with major corporations to achieve economic gains. In September 2019, India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, delivered a keynote speech and met with company executives at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City. At this event, Modi encouraged investments from Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Shell, and IBM, and highlighted India's auspicious democratic context for foreign investment. Modi, at one point, also requested that major soft drink producers, including PepsiCo, include more fresh fruits in their products to help struggling farmers. PepsiCo's then-CEO, Indra Nooyi, agreed to work with Modi to help farmers and achieve his broader development goals.

While Brazil and India's leaders should be commended for their admirable social and economic policy endeavors, their partnerships with food-industry giants legitimize soda and ultra-processed food companies. This can severely complicate efforts to help reduce public demand for unhealthy food products, especially among children and low-income communities.

Addressing the Situation

As leaders with considerable influence, presidents should question how partnerships with major food companies contribute to the junk food industry's legitimacy, the popularity of their foods, and what it means for children's health.

If presidents and other political leaders want to avoid those partnerships, they should overcome their fears of distancing themselves from powerful businesses. But this can be difficult to achieve.

Consider Mexico's current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to by his initials, "AMLO". Hailing from the leftist political party, Morena, AMLO emerged into office with a commitment to reducing poverty, violence, corruption, and malnutrition. Despite vocalizing his support for improving nutrition and children's health and warning of the dangers of processed foods, he met with Coca-Cola's CEO, John Quincey, to discuss investments, small business support, taxes, and even nutrition policy.

But if AMLO was fully committed to tackling obesity and issuing these public warnings, why did he meet with Coca-Cola's CEO? Was he afraid of ostracizing such a politically powerful company?

Perhaps. Coca-Cola has a long history in Mexico. For years, the beverage company benefited from President Vincente Fox, a former Coca-Cola chief executive for Latin America who strengthened the company's connections with policymakers. In addition to being the most consumed soda product in Mexico, Coca-Cola has also been used in Indigenous religious ceremonies and is perceived by some Indigenous healers as having healing powers within these communities. In this context, it becomes challenging to break ties with the soda giant.

The failure to reduce obesity is not due to individual willpower, but to the absence of political will to take on the power of major food corporations
Margaret Chan, director, WHO

Breaking with the precedent set by his predecessors, AMLO recently stated that consuming Coca-Cola is bad for your health. At the same time, government health officials have questioned why the public needs soda. This move signals to many that the Mexican government is committed to safeguarding children's health.

Beyond public statements, heads of state can strengthen the activist and research community's presence within policymaking institutions. In Mexico, Brazil, China, and India, the food industry has had a strong presence in drafting nutrition and childhood obesity policy for national agencies and committees, in turn securing industry policy interests. Research by Susan Greenhalgh at Harvard revealed that the industry-backed International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) worked to get the Chinese government to prioritize the importance of exercise in reducing childhood obesity.

On the contrary, activists and researchers have never had nearly as much representation and support in policymaking institutions. Government leaders should now work with agency directors to ensure that society's presence and voice when compared to the food industry's is equally as, if not more, represented.

Rebuilding these participatory policymaking institutions is also important. In Brazil, during Lula's first tenure, nutrition activists, and researchers had a seat at the policymaking table through the National Council of Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA). CONSEA had direct access to the office of the presidency and was committed to establishing anti-hunger and nutrition policies, such as ensuring children's access to healthy meals in schools. However, this council was subsequently disbanded under the conservative Jair Bolsonaro presidential administration (2019-2023). Re-elected into office this year, Lula appears to have reconstituted the CONSEA, and with this, rejuvenated the government's preexisting commitment to anti-hunger, improved nutrition, and children's health.

Going Forward

In countries where heads of state wield considerable authority, they are in a strong position to dramatically improve their government's commitment to reducing childhood obesity. As former World Health Organization Director Margaret Chan argued in 2016, the failure to reduce obesity is not due to individual willpower, but to the absence of political will to take on the power of major food corporations.

Establishing political will to counter the influence of major food corporations requires reconsidering public-private partnerships with major soda and ultra-processed food companies, overcoming fears of industry retaliation, and increasing civil society's policy influence.

Going forward, if presidents seek to establish policy partnerships, then their wisest move will be partnering with activists, academic researchers, and community leaders who truly care about children's health.

Eduardo J. Gómez is an associate professor and director of the Institute for Health Policy and Politics at Lehigh University.

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Overpowering the Food Industry | Think Global Health

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Engaging civil society to address childhood obesity in emerging markets

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Advocating for Companies to Stop Advertising Junk Food to Kids - Public Health Institute

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In May of 2015, Dairy Queen dropped soda from its kids’ meals. This action, an important step in reducing food and beverage marketing to kids,…

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There are many state and local policy options to reduce junk food marketing to children. These policy changes can be accomplished through legislation, regulation, school wellness policies, media advocacy, contracts, voluntary agreements, zoning, litigation and other approaches. Here are some policy options to address junk food marketing in and near schools, in restaurants, and elsewhere in the community.

In addition to state and local efforts, federal level efforts are underway to change junk food marketing targeted at children through television, print, radio, and the Internet.
Policy options to address marketing in schools

Institute a policy prohibiting the sale of low nutrition foods and beverages on school grounds.

Restrict commercial marketing of low nutrition foods and beverages, as well as brands associated with unhealthy products, on school property.

Negotiate contract terms with vendors to limit the sale and marketing of low nutrition foods and beverages in schools.

Prohibit fundraisers that involve the sale of low nutrition foods and beverages.

Provide incentives for the sale of healthier foods and beverages in and near schools.

Ban the sale of low nutrition foods and beverages near schools at all times during the school day, including before and after school.

Institute closed campus policies to reduce children s exposure to unhealthy foods and beverages and marketing near schools.

For more information, go to: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/resources_for_policy_options.pdf
Policy options to address restaurant marketing

Require restaurants with fewer than 20 outlets to list nutrition information for foods and beverages on menus and menu boards.

Require restaurants and other food service establishments on government property to list nutrition information for foods and beverages on menus and menu boards.

Require restaurants and other food service establishments in hospitals to list nutrition information for foods and beverages on menus and menu boards.

Set nutrition standards for children's meals that can include a toy or other incentive item.

Use zoning policies to limit the number of fast food outlets near schools and other settings frequented by children.

For more information, go to: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/resources_for_policy_options.pdf
Policy options to address marketing in other places in the community

Levy state and local taxes on sugar sweetened beverages and use funds to pay for obesity prevention and other public health, nutrition, and physical activity programs.

Implement policies that ensure healthy food offerings on government property.

Require that check out areas of stores are free of candy, sugar sweetened beverages, and other low nutrition foods.

Ban food sales in non food retail outlets.

Prohibit the sale of low nutrition foods and beverages in zoos, children s museums, boys and girls clubs, athletic venues, and other settings frequented by children.

For more information, go to: http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/resources_for_policy_options.pdf

It is essential to research the legality of a proposed policy within each jurisdiction. All policies should include evaluation, monitoring and enforcement provisions.

1. Policy options in bold are policy priorities, rated highest for achievability and effectiveness.

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Reducing junk food marketing to children: State and local policy options for advocates and policy makers | Food Marketing Workgroup

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Download pdf version There are many state and local policy options to reduce junk food marketing to children. These policy changes can be accomplished through legislation, regulation, school wellness policies, media advocacy, contracts, voluntary agreements, zoning, litigation and other approaches.

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Governmental policies to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children

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Reducing children’s exposure to food marketing is an important obesity prevention strategy. This narrative review describes current statutory regulations that restrict food marketing; reviews available evidence on the effects of these regulations;…

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Healthy-eating advocates seek ways to fight advertising promoting unhealthy food and drinks to kids

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Health advocates and parents argue that media messages aimed at impressionable young minds make it hard to resist temptations. Advertisers insist they have the right to sell products, and that parents must take responsibility and oversee their children’s media consumption and food choices.