<p> Despite recent efforts to highlight healthier sides and beverages in restaurants’ kids’ meals, it appears the fast food industry still has a long way to go before primarily promoting healthier fast-food options to children and teens.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> According to a new “Fast Food FACTS 2013” report by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, the fast food industry spent $4.6 billion in 2012 to advertise mostly unhealthy products to children and teens. Researchers examined 18 of the top fast-food restaurants in the U.S. and documented changes in the nutritional quality of menu items along with changes in marketing to children and teens on TV, the Internet, social media, and mobile devices, according to Yale News.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Marlene Schwartz, Rudd Center director, says that while the fast food restaurants are indeed improving their healthier options, these changes aren’t as significant as they could be. “There were some improvements, but they have been small, and the pace too slow. Without more significant changes, we are unlikely to see meaningful reductions in unhealthy fast food consumption by young people.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Key findings include:<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">· Children ages 6 to 11 saw 10% fewer TV ads for fast food, but children and teens continued to see three to five fast food ads on TV every day<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">· Healthier kids’ meals were advertised by a few restaurants, but they represent only one-quarter of fast-food ads viewed by children<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">· Less than 1% of kids’ meals combinations at restaurants meet nutrition standards recommended by experts, and just 3% meet the industry’s own Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative and Kids LiveWell nutrition standards<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">· Spanish-language advertising to Hispanic preschoolers, a population at high risk for obesity, increased by 16%<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">· Fast food marketing via social media and mobile devices grew exponentially<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The authors of the report recommend that restaurants apply nutrition standards to all kids’ meals and automatically provide healthy sides and beverages. The researchers also recommend that these restaurants should stop marketing their least healthy items to children and teens in ways that take advantage of their vulnerabilities.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">How might these findings influence future fast food marketing efforts?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow for more comments and opinions.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://news.yale.edu/2013/11/04/fast-food-companies-still-target-kids-marketing-unhealthy-products" target="_new"> Yale News </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
