Hey, kids! We've got sugar and toys
Yale psychologist Kelly Brownell, author of the recent book Food Fight, says most parents want their children to develop healthful eating habits but find it hard to compete with the ad blitz. Moreover, he believes marketing fuels kids' desires not only for food but for large portions. In McDonald's current Monopoly game promotion, for example, kids can win video games and DVD players by collecting Monopoly pieces--but they're available only with medium, large, and supersize french fries, and large and supersize drinks.
Food makers argue that "all foods have a place in a balanced diet. The key is balance," says Michael Diegel, communications director at the Grocery Manufacturers of America. But the CSPI report shows how out of balance kids' diets have become. Only 2 percent of children currently eat a diet consistent with the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommendations: 98 percent eat too much fat, sugar and salt; 84 percent eat too much artery-clogging saturated fat. Overall, children's caloric intake increased by about 80 to 230 calories a day (depending upon age) between 1989 and 1996, says CSPI.
Children are also eating more fast food. In 1977, 1 in 10 meals kids ate was from fast-food restaurants; by 1996, 1 in 3 meals was fast food. Fast-food kids' meals contain nearly twice the calories of meals prepared at home. Fast food is also encroaching on the National School Lunch Program. In 1990, only 2 percent of schools offered Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and other brand-name foods as part of this federal nutrition program. In 2000, 20 percent served fast foods.
Before he ever saw children's commercial television, says Foster, Morgan ate multigrain cereal for breakfast with fruit juice to drink. "Now, I've had to buy Scooby-Doo Cinnamon Marshmallow Cereal with Scooby-shaped pieces," says Foster, "and when I ask if he wants milk or juice with dinner, he slips in, `I'll have a soda.' He was so excited when he found this new world of products. But for me," she sighs, "I feel like I've given in."
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