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WASHINGTON - February 27 - To counter the rising global epidemic of childhood obesity, Commercial Alert released a statement today, endorsed by scores of health professionals and organizations, in support of a global ban on the marketing of junk food to children twelve years of age and below. The statement calls on the World Health Organization to incorporate the marketing ban into its global anti-obesity initiative, or to enact the marketing ban through international health regulations. Such regulations are automatically legally binding on countries, unless they affirmatively opt out. The statement was endorsed by 135 organizations, 79 health experts and children’s advocates, and 22 elected officials from 18 different countries. It was sent today to Dr. Jong-Wook Lee, Director-General of the World Health Organization. The statement and endorsers follow. Statement on Junk Food Marketing to Children Across the planet, obesity in children is reaching epidemic levels. More kids are getting fatter; and not coincidentally, many of these children are the targets of saturation marketing by the junk food industry, which seeks to displace healthful local eating habits with its own high calorie, high-added-fat, high-added-sugar junk food.* The time has come to reaffirm that raising children is the role and responsibility of parents. It is not the role of the junk food industry or any other industry, and these corporations must stop injecting themselves into the relationship between parents and their own children. They must stop creating strife in the home by prodding kids to whine and throw tantrums for junk food. They must stop draining family budgets, especially in developing countries, by enticing children to demand junk food that their parents cannot afford. These corporations must stop undermining the efforts of parents to transmit traditional -- and healthful -- eating habits to their children, and they must respect the sanctity of the family dinner table and the cultural heritage that surrounds it. We, the undersigned, support a global ban on junk food marketing to children twelve years of age and below. This one step is perhaps the single most inexpensive and cost-efficient way to reduce the global burden of obesity, diabetes and their complications among children. It would require virtually no governmental expenditure, and would likely save families billions of dollars each year that could be better spent on such things as education, healthful food and health care. Perhaps most important, it would reaffirm that raising children is the role of parents, and not of global junk food corporations. We strongly urge the World Health Organization to incorporate such a ban into its Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, and to encourage its member states to adopt it. Or, if necessary, the World Health Assembly should issue International Health Regulations to prohibit advertising of junk food to children twelve years of age and below. * For the purposes of this statement, junk food is defined as foods or beverages that are relatively high in saturated or trans fat, added sugars or salt, and relatively low in vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber. Endorsed by: AUSTRALIA Australian Consumers' Association Louise A. Baur, MBBS, BSc(Med), PhD, FRACP, Co-Director, Australian Child & Adolescent Obesity Research Network; Professor, Sydney Univ., Discipline of of Paediatrics and Child Health, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, New South Wales Colin Bell, Senior Research Fellow, Manager, Sentinel Site for Obesity Prevention, Centre for Phyiscal Activity and Nutrition Research, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin Waterfront Campus Freda Briggs, Emerita Professor of Child Development, Univ. of South Australia Simon Chapman PhD, Professor of Public Health, Univ. of Sydney Coalition on Food Advertising to Children Fight the Obesity Epidemic Kerin O'Dea, PhD, Professor and Director, Menzies School of Health Research Michael Organ, Member of Parliament Stephen R. Leeder, MB, PhD, FRACP, FAFPHM, Director, Australian Health Policy Institute, Univ. of Sydney, Australia; Visiting Senior Research Fellow, Center for Global Health and Economic Development, Columbia Univ. Giz Watson MLC, Member, Legislative Council, Parliament of Western Australia Victoria Whitington, PhD, Practicum Coordinator - Early Childhood Programs, Lecturer in Child Development, de Lissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies, Univ. of South Australia Rosemary Stanton, OAM, PhD, nutritionist, Univ. of New South Wales Boyd Swinburn MB, ChB, MD, FRACP, Professor, Physical Activity and Nutrition Research Unit, School of Health Sciences, Deakin Univ. BELGIUM Paul Lannoye, Member of the Eurpean Parliament, Belgium BRAZIL Brazilian Action for Nutrition and Human Rights Carlos Monteiro, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Head, Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, Univ. of Sao Paulo CANADA Hélène Delisle, PhD, Professeur Titulaire, Département de Nutrition, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal DENMARK Arne Astrup, professor, MD, Dr. Med. Sci., Head of Institute of Nutrition, RVA Univ., Copenhagen, Denmark; President-Elect, International Association for the Study of Obesity Thomas Meinert Larsen, PhD, Institute of Human Nutrition (IHE), Denmark Kim Fleischer Michaelsen, Dr. Med. Sci., Professor of Pediatric Nutrition, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural Univ. Bjørn Richelsen, MD, Chairman, Danish Council on Nutrition; Professor, Aarhus Univ. Hospital FINLAND Uma Aaltonen, Member of the European Parliament Green Parliamentary Group, Finnish Parliament Aila Rissanen, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of Obesity Research Unit, Helsinki Univ. Hospital Osmo Soininvaara, Member of Parliament; Chairperson, Green League on Finland GERMANY Friedrich Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, Member of the European Parliament Hiltrud Breyer, Member of the European Parliament Heide Ruehle, Member of the European Parliament INTERNATIONAL Alliance for Peoples Action on Nutrition International Baby Food Action Network International People´s Health Council People´s Health Movement IRELAND Eamon Ryan TD, Member of Parliament JAPAN Japan Offspring Fund MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA Regional Committee for the Promotion of Community Health, Central America and Mexico MALAYSIA Anwar Fazal, Chairperson Emeritus/Director, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action; former President, International Organisation of Consumer Unions THE NETHERLANDS Jaap C. Seidell, PhD, Past President, European Association for the Study of Obesity; Chair, European Obesity Prevention Task Force; Professor, Department of Nutrition & Health, Free Univ. of Amsterdam NEW ZEALAND Sue Kedgley, Member of Parliament Robyn Toomath, MBChB, FRACP, former President, New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes; Endocrinologist, Department of Endocrinology, Wellington Hospital NORWAY Knut-Inge Klepp, PhD, Chair, National Council on Nutrition and Physical Activity, Norway; Professor of Medicine, Institute for Nutrition Research, Univ. of Oslo SOUTH AFRICA Tessa van der Merwe, MBChB, FCP, PhD, Secretary, International Association for the Study of Obesity; Senior Consultant Physician and Senior Lecturer, Univ. of the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg Hospital SWEDEN Stephan Rossner, MD, past president, International Association for the Study of Obesity; Professor of health behaviour research, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm Inger Schörling, Member of the European Parliament UNITED KINGDOM Action Against Allergy Allergy Alliance Alliance for Childhood Arid Lands Initiative Autism Unravelled Baby Milk Action Biodynamic Agricultural Association Blood Pressure Association British Allergy Foundation British Association for Community Child Health British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry British Cardiac Society British Dental Association British Dental Hygienist Association British Dietetic Association British Heart Foundation British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group British Hypertension Society British Institute for Allergy & Environmental Therapy British Society for Cardiovascular Research Centre for Food Policy Paul Chadwick, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Univ. College London Chartered Institute of Environmental Health Child Growth Foundation Child Poverty Action Group Children’s Society Coeliac UK Co-operative Group Ltd Community Health UK Community Nutrition Group Community Practitioners’ and Health Visitors’ Association Compassion in World Farming Consumers’ Association Consensus Action on Salt and Health Coronary Artery Disease Research Association Coronary Prevention Group Day Care Trust Diabetes UK Digestive Disorders Foundation Elm Farm Research Centre Faculty of Public Health Family Heart Association Family Welfare Association Farmers’ Link FARM Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens Food Additives Campaign Team Food and Chemical Allergy Association Food Commission Food and Health Research Food Matters Foundation for Local Food Initiatives General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland Gingerbread Guild of Food Writers Hands Up For Haemolytic Uraemic Syndrome Help Health Education Trust Human Scale Education Hyperactive Children’s Support Group International Society for Food Ecology and Culture Philip James, CBE, DSc, MD, FRCP, MFPHM, Chair, International Obesity Task Force; Vice President, International Union of Nutritional Sciences Land Heritage Latex Allergy Support Group Maternity Alliance McCarrison Society for Nutrition and Health Migraine Action Association National Children’s Bureau National Council of Women National Consumer Council \ National Consumer Federation National Family and Parenting Institute National Federation of Women’s Institutes National Heart Forum National Obesity Forum National Oral Health Promotion Group National Union of Teachers Netmums New Economics Foundation Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association Organix Brands Parent Organisation Ltd Permaculture Association Positive Parenting Andrew M. Prentice, PhD, MRC International Nutrition Group, Nutrition & Public Health Intervention Research Unit, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Mike Rayner, MA, DPhil, Director, British Heart Foundation Health Promotion Research Group, Department of Public Health, Univ. of Oxford Realfood Neville Rigby, Director of Policy and Public Affairs, IASO/International Obesity Task Force Royal College of General Practitioners Royal College of Physicians Royal College of Surgeons Royal Institute of Public Health Royal Society for the Promotion of Health Scottish Consumer Council sease Risk Prevention Soil Association Soroptimist International of Great Britain Stroke Association TOAST (The Obesity Awareness & Solutions Trust) UK Public Health Association UNISON Vega Research Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation Viva! (Vegetarians International Voice for Animals) Weight Concern Welsh Consumer Council Welsh Food Alliance World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms World Cancer Research Fund Young Minds UNITED STATES Action Coalition for Media Education Stephen Anton, PhD, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Pennington Biomedical Research Center Atlanta Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility Zenobia Barlow, Executive Director and Co-founder, Center for Ecoliteracy Peter Barnes, co-founder, Working Assets Larry Bragman, Member, Town Council, Fairfax, California Peter K. Buckley, Chairman, David Brower Center Brita Butler-Wall, PhD, School Board Director, Seattle Public Schools Fritjof Capra, PhD, author, The Web of Life and The Hidden Connections Nancy Carlsson-Paige, EdD, Professor of Child Development, Lesley Univ. Jason Catlett, President, Junkbusters Corp. Center for a New American Dream Center for Communications, Health and the Environment Center for Ecoliteracy Center for Science in the Public Interest Joyce Chen, Alderman, Ward 2, New Haven, CT Commercial Alert Donald R. Davis, PhD, Research Associate in Nutrition, Biochemical Institute, Univ. of Texas Kevin Danaher, PhD, Co-founder, Global Exchange Richard A. Daynard, JD, PhD, Professor of Law, Northeastern School of Law; President, Tobacco Control Resource Center Larry Denk, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Univ. of Rochester Medical School John Eder, Member, Maine House of Representatives Leon Eisenberg, MD Professor of Social Medicine and Psychiatry Emeritus, Harvard Medical School Simone A. French, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Univ. of Minnesota Gilbert Fuld, MD, pediatrician, Past President, New Hampshire Pediatric Society; former member, Board of Directors, American Academy of Pediatrics Christopher D. Gardner, PhD, Assistant Professor, Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford Univ. School of Medicine Samuel S. Gidding, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Thomas Jefferson Univ.; attending cardiologist, Nemours Cardiac Center, A. I. duPont Hospital for Children Global Exchange Matt Gonzalez, President, San Francisco Board of Supervisors Green Party of the United States Joan Gussow, EdD, M. S. Rose Professor Emeritus, Nutrition and Education, Teachers College, Columbia Univ. Jane M. Healy, PhD, author, Failure to Connect and Endangered Minds Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Amid I. Ismail, DDS, DrPH, Professor of Cardiology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics, Univ. of Michigan Mike Feinstein, Councilmember, City of Santa Monica Erica Frank, MD, MPH, Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine; Emory Univ. School of Medicine Norman Kaplan, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Mary Kapsner, Member, Alaska State House of Representatives Kids Can Make A Difference Jean Kilbourne, author, Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel Jeanne Kohl-Welles, PhD, Senator, Washington State Senate; Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Univ. of Washington Ronald M. Krauss, MD, Senior Scientist and Director, Atherosclerosis Research, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute; Adjunct Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Univ. of California, Berkeley Velma LaPoint, PhD, Associate Professor of Child Development, School of Education, Howard Univ. Diane Levin, PhD, Professor of Education, Wheelock College Susan Linn, EdD, Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; Associate Director, Media Center, Judge Baker Children's Center Bob McCannon, Executive Director, New Mexico Media Literacy Project Robert McChesney, PhD, Research Professor, Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; author, Rich Media, Poor Democracy Kevin McKeown, Mayor pro tem, Santa Monica, CA Mary Anne Mercer, DrPH, Senior Lecturer, Department of Health Services, Univ. of Washington, School of Public Health and Community Medicine Mark Crispin Miller, PhD, Professor of Media Ecology, New York Univ. Alex Molnar, PhD, Professor and Director, Education Policy Studies Laboratory, Arizona State Univ. Bill Morrisette, Senator, Oregon State Senate Diane M. Morrison, PhD, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, Univ. of Washington School of Social Work Mothering Magazine Robert K. Musil, PhD, MPH, Executive Director and CEO, Physicians for Social Responsibility Kathleen G. Nelson, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Senior Associate Dean for Students, Univ. of Alabama School of Medicine Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Professor, Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, New York Univ.; author, Food Politics and Safe Food New Mexico Media Literacy Project Peggy O’Mara, Editor and Publisher, Mothering Magazine Obligation, Inc. Organic Consumers Association Mark A. Pereira, PhD, Assistant Professor, Division of Epidemiology, Univ. of Minnesota Paul G. Pinsky, Senator, Maryland State Senate Harold Pollack, PhD, Associate Professor of Social Service Administration, Univ. of Chicago Barry M. Popkin, PhD, Professor of Nutrition, Schools of Public Health and Medicine, Univ. of North Carolina Alvin F. Poussaint, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School Thomas G. Pretlow, MD, Professor of Pathology, Urology, Oncology, and Environmental Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve Univ. School of Medicine The Public Health Advocacy Institute, Obesity Task Force Eric Ravussin, PhD, Professor, Pennington Biomedical Research Center Larry Robinson, Vice-Mayor, Sebastopol, CA Eric Schlosser, author, Fast Food Nation Juliet Schor, Professor of Sociology, Boston College; author, The Overspent American and The Overworked American Mary Segal, PhD, Department of Family Practice & Community Medicine, Univ. of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Ellen Ruppel Shell, Associate Professor and Co-director, Knight Center for Science and Medical Journalism, Boston Univ.; author, The Hungry Gene: The Science of Fat and the Future of Thin Slow Food USA Victor Strasburger, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Univ. of New Mexico School of Medicine Betsy Taylor, Executive Director, Center for a New American Dream Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children's Entertainment V. Susan Villani, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins Medical School Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, Chair, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health Yale Prevention Research Center David York, PhD, Treasurer, International Association for the Study of Obesity; Boyd Professor and Associate Executive Director Basic Research, Pennington Biomedical Research Center Background: For more information about the World Health Organization’s Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, see: * WHO’s web page on its global strategy: http://www.who.int/hpr/global.strategy.shtml * WHO’s report on Diet, Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases: http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf * Commercial Alert’s analysis of the U.S. Government’s secret attack on the WHO and its global anti-obesity strategy: http://www.commercialalert.org/index.php/category_id/5/subcategory_id/66/article_id/213 * An article on the WHO global strategy and the Bush Administration’s attack on it: http://www.alternet.org/print.html?StoryID=17649 For more information about the World Health Assembly’s authority to approve legally binding International Health Regulations, see especially Articles 21-22 of the World Health Organization Constitution: http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/decade/decad051.htm#art21 ###
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