Unhealthy eating habits are a major factor in the current childhood obesity epidemic, and much of the blame goes to…TV commercials. Watch an hour of daytime television and you’ll quickly see why. Kids are bombarded with glitzy, fast-action ads for products so high in sugar, fat, or salt that they’re barely recognizable as food. (Come on, does anyone really need to drink their milk with a straw made out of gaggy-sweet cereal?) 

It’s not just the number of commercials children see, but also the extent to which advertisers specifically target children. According to Dr. Allen Kanner [in PDF], a child psychologist and founder of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the combined commercial budget for advertising directed at children in 1983 was $100 million. In 2004, it was $16 billion. And those savvy ad guys know exactly what they’re doing. Many products are now linked to the shows your child loves. After all, what die-hard Scooby Doo fan will pass up the opportunity to try not only Scooby crackers, but Scooby fruit snacks, as well.

Get smart. Take control of your family’s television. Check out our Solutions to learn what you can do to protect your kids. Get involved with the Big Picture and join the STA in showing TV programmers there’s an ongoing need for quality kids TV.  

Tune In To These Facts The average child watches more than 40,000 advertisements a year, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). One-third of commercials aimed at children are advertising candy or snacks, according to a March 2007 study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Of 9,000 ads studied over a five-month period, not one was for fruits or vegetables, according to the same Kaiser study. Children under the age of eight are most likely to accept advertising claims as truthful and accurate, according to the APA.

More Info The advertising industry is linking cartoon characters to products like SpongeBob SquarePants cereal, Pop-Tarts, cookies and candy, and Scooby-Doo fruit snacks and crackers, according to a study by the Institute of Medicine, part of the federal government's National Academies. Some Good News: Eleven of the largest food and beverage companies, including Kellogg, General Mills, and McDonald's, recently vowed to encourage active lifestyles or promote healthier foods in at least half their advertising directed at children under the age of 12.

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