Kellogg Will Ease Off Ads Aimed at Kids

Congress wants data on childhood obesity

(NEWSER) - The FTC dealt out 44 subpoenas yesterday to food companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Kraft, seeking information on how much they spent on advertising to kids. The businesses have until November 1 to comply for a report the FTC is preparing for Congress on marketing practices and child obesity. More»

Strict measures aim to reduce number of overweight kids

(NEWSER) - The most stringent guidelines to date for combating childhood obesity recommend yearly weight checks and possibly even medication or surgery for kids who can't combat the condition on their own, USA Today reports. Doctors should also keep normal-weight kids apprised of the ins and outs of healthy living, a panel of medical experts said in a report out today. More»

...says a new report that wants calories, fat listed on the front of packages

(NEWSER) - It's time for food manufacturers to come clean about what's in their products, a new report on food labeling suggests. In addition to trumpeting the good (high fiber!) food labels should fess up to the bad ('high sodium!') on the front of the package, argue experts from the Institute of Medicine. The report, which hopes to inform new FDA regulations on labeling, focuses on the nutrients most responsible for obesity, namely: calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium, notes the New York Times . More»

Cut affects Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms, 8 other breakfast treats

(NEWSER) - General Mills is bowing to consumer pressure and cutting the amount of sugar in all of its cereals aimed at children, the third time in three years the food giant has taken its sweet breakfast treats down a notch. The goal this time is bring the amount of sugar per serving below 10 grams for all cereals advertised to kids under 12. That does not include products like Chocolate Lucky Charms, which goes unadvertised—and is almost half sugar. More»

(AP) - A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese. Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites. More»