Cholesterol

Turn on the TV on a Saturday morning and children get a steady diet of commercials for McDonald’s, Eggo waffles (with the syrup baked in), and rapping SpaghettiOs that promise “your mouth will really groove.” “There’s no strong message there to choose grapes or bananas,” said J.

Michael McGinnis, who directed the Institute’s congressionally mandated study.

The Kaiser report, which was released in March, quantified just how many food ads kids were viewing in 2005.

Children ages 8 to 12, known as “tweens,” saw the most food ads, an average of 7,600 a year.

And 34 percent of the ads targeted at children peddled candy and snacks, while 28 percent promoted cereal.

C.

Lee Peeler, executive vice president for advertising self-regulation at the Council of Better Business Bureaus, said his organisation will review the pledges and regularly audit whether the big food companies are keeping their word.

While the Kaiser study could find scant evidence in 2005 of public-service ads promoting healthy eating, the popular children’s network Nickelodeon said it is expanding efforts to encourage youngsters to eat well and stay fit.

But that progress has yet to reach Tamika Morgan’s family.

Her son Izaiah Busby-Morgan, 10, participates in the weight-loss program at Boston Medical.

His pleas...

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