As we all know by now, America is facing a growing obesity crisis. Adults, as well as children, are fighting an unsuccessful battle with fat. However, the fight may soon be over. Finally, someone has stepped up to the plate.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, advocacy groups and parents in Massachusetts plan to sue the popular brands Kellogg's and Nickelodeon in an effort to stop them from advertising junk food to young children. Kellogg's, maker of several popular junk foods such as Pop Tarts and Apple Jacks, makes use of Nickelodeon cartoon characters in an effort to sell their products to children. The plaintiffs, namely The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, along with several parents, claim that using Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob and Dora the Explorer as a way to entice children is ultimately contributing to child obesity. The plaintiffs assert that Kellogg's plasters such cartoon characters on their products in order to lure children to eat unhealthy snack foods. The plaintiffs have just cause to support their claims because a recent study by the Institute of Medicine concluded that "food advertising aimed at kids gets them to prefer - and request - foods high in calories and low in nutrients." Caught in the middle of the heat, SpongeBob SquarePants is under scrutiny as the ultimate culprit. With his big yellow grin and bright-eyed expression, kids all over America just can't get enough of the lovable, huggable fruitcake. SpongeBob has now become an icon on Saturday morning TV, in retail stores, and apparently, on supermarket shelves. Led by profit hungry corporations, SpongeBob has been transformed into a marketing ploy. The main problem lies not in the fact that SpongeBob is being publicized, but that his image is advertising unhealthy junk foods, high in sugar and carbohydrates. SpongeBob is guilty of promoting Pop Tarts, sugary cereals, and cookies. According to the website cspinet.org, "84% [67/80] of Kellogg's food products with on-package marketing directed to children are of poor nutritional quality."
Sadly, obesity has become a staple of American culture and the rate of child obesity is steadily rising. According to The Center For Science In The Public Interest, "on an average day, only 45% of American children eat any fruit." The media, health magazines, and nutritionists report the growing epidemic, though no one has offered a substantial solution. This lawsuit might just be the perfect first step.
Kellogg's and Nickelodeon assert that they promote healthy lifestyles and wholesome snack foods, despite the allegations of the lawsuit. A spokesman for the Center for Consumer Freedom defended the two companies saying "the lawsuit assumes that parents can't turn off televisions, have no control over the food they buy and can't make kids go outside to play," in a Jan. 18th, 2006 article of USA Today. Though Nickelodeon and Kellogg maintain that parents need to exercise greater control over their children's eating habits, how can a parent turn down a child's persistent request for SpongeBob or Dora the Explorer without appearing like a "bad mommy or daddy"? Most children already love sweet snacks and putting a loveable, familiar character on the box makes it harder for parents to put their foot down. Perhaps a parent can resist a child's pleas once or twice, but by the fifth time SpongeBob usually wins the round.
True, parents have the ultimate authority, but they can not fight the battle alone.
While Nickelodeon and Kellogg's claim they promote a healthy lifestyle, it is evident that their marketing approach has a negative impact on children by promoting unhealthy foods. More and more, children are becoming victims of obesity, all because they have yet to realize that they're marketing targets. These companies already generate profits in the billions without the help of SpongeBob or Dora, so why the need for tasteless marketing tactics to make trillions? When do corporate profits outweigh the worth of health? Apparently, they already have.
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but really