Disney To Phase out Unhealthy Food Ads
When my kids were growing up, we always chose The Most Basic of all basic cable TV packages offered, so we never got the Disney channel… thus I cannot tell you what the food ads were like. I can imagine it, though, so the news that Disney plans to phase out ads for junk food seems pretty major to me. According to USA Today…
The Walt Disney Co. is announcing today that it plans to advertise only healthier foods to kids on its TV channels, radio station and website. Disney says it’s the first major media company to set a standard for food advertising on kid-focused TV programming.
By 2015, all food and beverage products that are advertised, promoted or sponsored on the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney, Disney.com and Saturday morning programming for kids on ABC-owned stations (Disney owns ABC) will have to meet the company’s nutrition criteria for limiting calories and reducing saturated fat, sodium and sugar.
Many foods, such as prepackaged lunches, fruit drinks, candy and snack cakes, won’t make the cut. The nutrition criteria were created by experts to reflect the government’s dietary guidelines.
It’s a good start, and could encourage other providers of children’s entertainment to follow suit. We’ll see.
There’s still a downside, though, even if sweeping changes are made: children’s programming still encourages kids to sit for prolonged periods of time. So while they (and their parents) can look forward to NOT being bombarded with ads for crap food on Disney-controlled media, reducing your kids’ exposure to it altogether is still the superior solution.
June 7, 2012
It is a good place to start, as you stated. I have seen a little of the Disney channel. Most all food commercials are for sugar filled cereal, fruit rollups, and candies. The drinks advertised are also all sugar filled.
So anything that Disney does to cut this back can’t hurt.
Your take on the “downside” is absolutely correct. Kids should spend more time doing active things and not setting in front of the TV!