89% of kids' food products low on nutritional value: study
15.07.2008 00:01
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
 A Canadian study suggests that less than one per cent of food products marketed to children are fruits and vegetables.(Seth Perlman/Associated Press)About 89 per cent of grocery items marketed to appeal to children are stuffed with high levels of sugar, fat or sodium and offer poor nutritional value, according to a new Canadian study. Researcher Charlene Elliott of the University of Calgary surveyed a total of 367 products, excluding junk food, purchased from Loblaws. The study, published in the July issue of the UK journal Obesity Reviews, examined only products that clearly targeted children with cartoon characters, promises of fun and play, or tie-ins with promotional films or TV shows. "In consistently emphasizing a food's play factor, artificiality and general distance from 'regular' foods, fun food marketing can work to create a particularly unnatural relationship with food in children," according to the study. "Food becomes framed as entertainment, and this entertainment is both premised on and emphasizes the artificiality of what is being consumed." Using criteria developed by the U.S.-based non-profit group the Centers for Science in the Public Interest, researchers assessed the nutritional value of each product. The CSPI suggests that food should contain less than 35 per cent of its total calories from fat, less than 35 per cent added sugars by weight, less than 230 mg of salt for snacks and less than 480 mg per serving for cereals, soups, pastas and meats. Meals should contain less than 770 mg of sodium. Researchers found the following: - Eighty-nine per cent of the products studied had high levels of sodium or an excessive proportion of calories from fat or sugar.
- Less than one per cent of foods marketed to children are fruits and vegetables.
- Sixty-three per cent of fun food products make at least one nutrition claim in its packaging.
- Almost one-quarter of the products contain a high proportion of calories from fat.
- Seven out of 10 products had a high proportion of calories from sugar.
- Two out of 10 had high levels of sodium.
"While all foods provide a source of energy, not all foods are 'best choices' for fuelling an active lifestyle," said the study, which also noted packaging for Pizza Pops touted the product as a source of calcium and taglines for a peanut butter-chocolate mixture promised it to be a source of six essential nutrients. "Consumers are left in a situation of communicative ambiguity in which certain 'fun food' products displaying active images are healthy selections, while others are not," the study said. In recent years, public health officials have raised concerns about growing levels of obesity. In the U.S., about 32 per cent of children are overweight and 16 per cent obese, according to 2008 statistics released by the U.S. Centers of Disease Control. According to Health Canada, obesity rates have spiked over the past three decades. In 2004, 18 per cent of children and adolescents were overweight and eight per cent were obese. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksBLOG: Food BytesCholesterol drugs recommended for kids as young as 8: pediatriciansPoor kids more prone to obesity than middle-class kids: studyExternal LinksJournal abstract(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - links will open in new window) Health HeadlinesAlzheimer's patients who exercise have bigger brains: studyExercise may slow the atrophy of the brain brought on by Alzheimer's, suggests a new study. Heart health benefits of flax studied by Winnipeg researchersThe lowly flax plant may not have the renown of wheat and other crops, but researchers are trying to find out whether it could serve as a new weapon against heart disease.89% of kids' food products low on nutritional value: studyAbout 89 per cent of grocery items marketed to appeal to children offer poor nutritional value, according to a new study.Seal oil shows promise for healthy heart, researcher saysConsumers taking fish oil capsules for a daily hit of omega-3 fatty acids should consider seal oil capsules instead, a St. John's researcher says. Doctors reveal case of Alberta woman who died after stepping on venomous caterpillars An Alberta woman who died of caterpillar-induced bleeding is at the centre of a teaching case published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by the team of Edmonton doctors who treated her. Health FeaturesBlogSherraine SchalmI am fencer, hear me roar!IN DEPTHRed, red wineHealth pros and consHEALTHLife spanLongevity secrets from around the worldVIEWPOINT/ANALYSISScience FrictionStephen Strauss on vitamin D and diabetesHEALTH & FITNESSPeter HadzipetrosBreaking up's not that hard to doPeople who read this also read …
| 
Add comment