Child Obesity Facts

A ban on fast food advertisements would reduce the number of overweight children ages 3 to 11 by 18 percent, according to a study by Lehigh Economics Professor Shin-Yi Chou and a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The ban would also reduce the number of overweight adolescents ages 12 to 18 by 14 percent.

In 2008, the study was published in the Journal of Law and Economics, and was written by Chou in collaboration with Inas Rashad Kelly of Queens College of the City University of New York and Michael Grossman of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Over 30 percent of children are obese in the U.S., Chou reported. She said this becomes a long-term problem because typically an obese child becomes an obese adult.

Weight gain is caused by more energy intake than energy expenditure over a long period of time, according to the study. Over time, obesity can lead to diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, certain types of cancers, heart diseases and high cholesterol, Kelly said.

"Obesity is the second leading modifiable cause of death in the U.S. next to smoking," Chou said.

Obesity accounted for 400,000 deaths in 2000 in comparison to 435,000 from cigarette smoking, Grossman said.

There are many factors that attribute to obesity, including genetic and environmental factors, Chou said. But genetics cannot be the main contributor to the entire obese population because human genes do not vary that quickly, the study states.

The researchers wanted to look at one environmental factor - fast-food advertising - to see if there is a correlation between the amount of commercials viewed by these children and their BMIs, Chou said.

Using spot television advertising from 41 fast food companies, they calculated the number of minutes children and adolescents were actually exposed to these fast food commercials, Kelly said. The researchers compared the minutes and the BMIs of individuals and found a positive correlation between the two, Chou said. The more commercial time viewed, the higher their BMI and vice versa, she said.

The report stated that in the 1970s, children viewed an average of 20,000 commercials per year and in the late 1990s, they viewed an average of 40,000 commercials.

Not only did the amount of commercials increase, but the share of fast-food advertising went from five percent to 25 percent in total food product advertising from 1980 to 1997, the report said. These increases are so extreme that there is an obvious correlation between this environmental factor and child obesity, Chou said.

Obesity does not only affect health, it also hinders successful careers.

"Obese workers earn less than their thinner counterparts," Kelly said.

In 2003, obesity cost around $75 billion in health care because of long and expensive costs, Grossman said in a 2004 research report.

Chou said obesity is more of a problem for the U.S. than any other country.

"We have more fast food restaurants, more highways, less public transportation and fewer parks; we are more technologically advanced, and while this may have positive effects, it has negative unintended consequences," she said

Decreasing obesity by eliminating this environmental factor should be simple just by banning fast food commercials from television in the U.S. Sweden, Norway and Finland have banned these kinds of commercials already. However, Chou said the U.S. government would have to create the ban itself.

"As an economist," Chou said, "the government would need to experience a negative externality to stage an intervention," meaning the government would have to experience negative effects from the marketing techniques.

Chou said there are already many examples of the negative effects, such as the billions of dollars spent on health care because of health complications due to obesity.

The complete elimination of fast food advertising on television would decrease obesity the most, but it is possible to make a smaller impact without such extreme measures by the government, Chou said.

She said this method would consist of removing the tax advantage posed on advertising.

Chou said commercials are tax deductable in the U.S., and if the government was to remove this tax advantage, less fast food restaurants would pay for advertising, thus decreasing the number of ads.

The researchers simulated this in their study and found that obesity would decrease in children and adolescents by between 5 and 7 percent, according to the study.

This is still a significant difference and would also lower costs on children and adults who consume fast food in moderation, the study said.

Chou said as a health economist, the expense and the health concerns associated with obesity are endless.

Kelly said advertising is not always as economists believe it to be - a benign provision of information - and these children determine the future health of the country. Steps need to be taken to improve or eliminate the advertising, Chou said.

Source: Earthlink News