"TWEENS" THE TARGET OF JUNK-FOOD MARKETERS

"Tweens" are fed a large daily diet of junk-food TV commercials every day, according to a study released Wednesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In what it claimed was the most thorough and detailed study to focus on food advertising to children, the study disclosed that 8-12-year-old kids watch an average of 212 food ads a day, 34 percent of which are for candy and snacks, 28 percent for cereal, and 10 percent for fast-food restaurants. In a statement, Kansas Senator Sam Brownback said that the Kaiser study should serve as "a wakeup call that we all must do more to address the impact of food advertising on children." The study comes in the wake of reports warning that childhood obesity is fast becoming the leading health problem in America.

29/03/2007