Are marketers to blame for increasing obesity rates among children? Should the government ban the advertising of food products to children ages 17 and younger? Discuss the consequences of imposing such a ban.
The obesity rate among children in the United States is 17 percent—triple what it was 30 years ago. Who’s to blame? One study reported that 76 percent of parents thought food advertising is a major contributor to childhood obesity but also found that over 80 percent blamed parents, not marketers. Yet, the federal government is homing its sights on marketers. Reminiscent of the 1970s when the FTC proposed banning advertising to children, a provision in the American Recovery and Reinvention Act of 2009 created an Interagency Working Group (IWG) on Food Marketing to Children. Although most regulations regarding marketing to children are limited to children ages 12 and younger, the current IWG guidelines include children up to 17 years old and propose restrictions on food marketing targeted to children. With $1.6 billion spent on food marketing and promotions targeted to children—$745 million of that on television—more than just marketers will be affected by marketing restrictions to this market segment.