The Times-Colonist (Victoria, BC)
Trevor Hancock discusses the health impacts of poverty and inequality, and commercial activities like marketing to kids that harm children. Both were included in A Future for the World’s Children?, the February 2020 report from the WHO-UNICEF-Lancet Commission. Read the article here
ABC News
The inundation of junk food advertising is contributing to the rising rate of teen obesity — a public health crisis among a population that is “especially vulnerable” to the messaging, experts say. In 2016 alone, the food industry spent almost $14 billion on overall advertising to influence Americans’ food choices. The U.S. food system is the second-largest advertiser in the American economy, and views adolescents as a major market force, aggressively targeting them to build brand awareness, preference and loyalty. Read more here
Radio NL
Dr. Tom Warshawski is praising the BC government’s decision to add the “sugar tax” to soft drinks, but believes more could be done. “I think taxes on sugary products are important, but it should be an excise tax that only the federal government can do. But, these types of discussions are really important because there’s a lot of marketing around drinking sugary drinks, in favour of it and kids are bombarded by it.” Read the article here
See also The Globe and Mail (subscriber paywall)| Doctor says B.C.’s tax on sugary drinks will help kids lose weight, improve health
New York Times
A recent study that examined millions of grocery store purchases in the United States found that dubious claims about sugar, salt and fat were common. Many fruit juices that claimed to be low in sugar, for example, tended to have added sugars and more sugar than comparable juices with no claims on them. Some breakfast cereals labeled low in calories had more calories than the cereals that did not make calorie claims. Read the article here.
Vancouver Sun
The government will end a Provincial Sales Tax exemption on sugary drinks, such as pop, starting July 1. Adding the seven-per-cent PST to such beverages will generate more than $30 million annually. “I think it’s interesting if you take a look at the largest consumption of pop, sweetened drinks, it is 14 to 18 year olds,” said Finance Minister Carole James. “We want to make sure we’re doing our part to set them on the stage of having a healthy life ahead.” Read more.
Washington Post
Food giant Unilever has vowed to stop marketing its products to children by the end of this year in order to tackle rising obesity rates. The firm said it would limit the use of cartoon characters in its advertising and also promised to stop using social media stars or celebrities “who primarily appeal” to children under 12. Read the article.
Guelph Mercury
Canadian child health advocate, Zulfi Bhutta of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, is among a team of global experts urging “a radical rethink” of how a warming planet, aggressive advertising and economic inequities pose an “immediate threat” to the health and well-being of young people worldwide. A report launched Wednesday by the World Health Organization, UNICEF and The Lancet concludes children face urgent peril from ecological degradation, climate change and aggressive marketing tactics that push heavily processed fast food, sugary drinks, alcohol and tobacco. Read the article
CBC British Columbia
Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies, the federal NDP health critic, introduced the School Food Program for Children Act on February 4. The bill would require the minister of health to develop a national school food program for all Canadian children at little or no direct cost to children and their families. “The last time the federal government seriously discussed implementing a national school food program was during Second World War,” Davies said. “So I think it’s long past time that we started taking a look at this. Read more
The New York Times
A study found that a law requiring warning labels on unhealthy foods made a swift difference in purchases of sodas, bottled water and juices. Consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks dropped practically 25 per cent in the 18 months after Chile adopted a raft of laws that included promoting restrictions on unhealthy meals, front-of-package warning labels and a ban on junk meals in schools. Read more
CBC PEI
A new healthy food program was rolled out at some P.E.I. schools on Monday February 3. The pilot project is the first step in the province’s promise to have a lunch program in place for students across the Island next fall. Organizers say there is a focus not just on healthy foods, but also reducing waste and sourcing food locally. The pilot programs will be offered on a pay-what-you-can model with a maximum price of $5 per day. Read more
Vancouver Sun
The Globe & Mail