Rudd Center August 2015

Rudd Center Recent Publications

Black and Hispanic Youth Are Disproportionately Targeted With Advertising for Unhealthy Food and Beverages   Food companies disproportionately target their TV advertising for fast food, candy, sugary drink and snack brands to Black and Hispanic consumers, according to a new report by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network (AACORN) and Salud America! "Our analysis of the largest food, beverage and restaurant corporations in the United States shows that these companies vary widely in their focus on advertising targeted to Black and Hispanic youth. Unfortunately, the majority of brands targeted to youth of color are nutritionally poor products that can be harmful to their health," said Jennifer Harris, PhD, the report's lead author and the Rudd Center's Director of Marketing Initiatives. Dr. Harris presented the findings of the report, "Food advertising targeted to Hispanic and Black youth: Contributing to health disparities," at the annual National Conference on Health Communication, Marketing and Media, held Aug. 11-13 in Atlanta, Ga.  Rudd Center in the News   The Hartford Courant featured our new report in an Aug. 11 article headlined, "UConn Study Says Ads For Unhealthy Foods Target Minorities." The in-depth article notes: "While targeted marketing to Black and Hispanic consumers is not by itself problematic, the study's authors say, the overwhelming preponderance of ads for food products that are calorie rich, lacking in nutrients and laden with sugar, salt and fat are contributing to an obesity crisis in minority communities."   NBC News covered the report on Aug. 11 and quoted co-author Shiriki Kumanyika, Chair of the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network: "This is a clear case of tactics that must be profitable from the business perspective but at the cost of fostering an environment that promotes poor health in Black and Hispanic youth in particular," Dr. Kumanyika said.   The report was highlighted in Jet magazine Aug. 11 and Ebony magazine on Aug. 12. "Overall, Black youth viewed 70 percent more food-related TV advertising compared with their white peers. In addition, they saw almost twice as many TV ads for candy, soda and other sugary drinks, and snacks," the article said, citing the report's findings.     The Latino Post published an article on the report on Aug. 12, "Latino Kids Targeted by Sugary Sodas & Calorie-Packed Food Ads, Researchers Report."    The Los Angeles Times was among news outlets that emphasized health disparities in the context of TV advertising for unhealthy foods targeting Black and Latino youth. "Over two-thirds of the Spanish TV ads that are directed to [Latino children] are really pushing fast food, sugary drinks, candy and snacks," report co-author Amelie Ramirez of Salud America! said in the Aug. 13 article, which noted that only 3 percent of the food ads viewed by Latino youth promoted healthier options." "We're really concerned about this because 39 percent of Hispanic and Latino children between the ages of 2 and 19 are already either overweight or obese," Ramirez added.   Other publications that featured our new targeted marketing report included Politico, UConn Today, Food and Wine magazine, The Daily Meal, The Dallas Weekly, Atlanta BlackStar, LA Watts Times, The Tri-State Defender, The Sacramento Observer and Medical Xpress.    Rudd Center Research Associate Megan LoDolce was quoted in an Aug. 27 article in The Stamford Advocate that marked Subway's 50th anniversary. Asked about the chain's healthy offerings, Megan's comments employed both carrot and stick: "The meals they're showing in advertising drive people into the restaurants, but there's a relatively small proportion of actual healthy meals compared to other things you can get," she said. "Companies like Subway do have better foods, if you can find them."   Philadelphia Public Radio - WHYY - quoted Rudd Center Director Marlene Schwartz on Aug. 7 about food service company Aramark's efforts to revamp its menu toward healthier food with the help of the American Heart Association.   MSN on Aug. 2 carried a report on Rudd Center Deputy Director Rebecca Puhl's recent four-nation study showing that weight bias is perceived as the most common reason children are bullied. "Our findings echo recent research from the U.S. showing that parents favor strengthening school-based policies and state laws to address weight-based bullying," she said in the article. "The time may be ripe to implement school-level policy changes to ensure that vulnerable youth are protected."     News to Chew On   U.S. News & World Report Empty Plate: Kids Are Being Bullied to Skip Lunch at School The New York Times Coca-Cola Funds Scientists Who Shift Blame for Obesity Away From Bad Diets Washington Post We don't need to drink less soda, according to research funded by Coca-Cola Daily Mail (UK) How your takeaway treat could KILL you: Eating fried food washed down with sugary drinks 'increases your risk of heart attack by 56%' The Huffington Post The Sugar In A Soda Can Also Make This Giant Lollipop Gawker Soda Executives Are Just as Evil as Tobacco Executives Time Here’s Who Drinks the Most Sugary Beverages In the World   The Independent (UK) Finally, a study that confirms what I knew all along: fat acceptance is good for our health   Huffington Post (UK) Increasing Number of Toddlers and Children Put On Weight Loss Schemes to Tackle Obesity   Al Jazeera America The soda industry’s creepy youth campaign   USA Today DQ hits tipping point for happier meals   Al Jazeera America Mexico's surcharge on sugary drinks is the Real Thing   People Woman Writes Awesome Open Letter to Man Who Called Her Fat While Jogging       What's Simmering with Our Friends   The Center for Science in the Public Interest published a powerful new report Aug. 3 on how the presence of junk food at store checkout aisles leads to impulse purchases of foods like candy, chips and sugary drinks - undermining consumers' health. The report, "Temptation at Checkout: The Food Industry's Sneaky Strategy for Selling More," was widely publicized via social media including an Aug.  4 webinar and an Aug. 5 tweet chat #RethinkCheckout. The release of the report marked the start of a campaign to transform checkout aisles so they do not undermine public health.   Salud America!, one of our two collaborators on the report on TV advertising for unhealthy food targeting Black and Hispanic youth, hosted a fabulously far-reaching tweet chat on the report upon its release Aug. 11 #SaludTues. The Rudd Center @UConnRuddCenter and AACORN @SHIFTDemand were co-hosts.   The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation highlighted our report on TV marketing of unhealthy food targeted to Black and Hispanic youth in its foundation-wide newsletter - Advances - and on its Culture of Health blog.    A letter to the editor organized by The Center for Science in the Public Interest and published by The New York Times (with 36 co-signers in the fields of public health, medicine and nutrition including Rudd Center Director Marlene Schwartz) took Coca-Cola to task for "supporting scientists who help them deny the role sugary drinks play in causing obesity." The letter was in response to the Times' article on Aug. 9.   An article by Rudd Center Communication Director Dan Jones on Hartford's Mobile Market, "Healthy Food Comes to Hartford's Neighborhoods - On Wheels," was published in the Prevent Obesity.net Inside Track newsletter on Aug. 6. Prevent Obesity.net, a project of the American Heart Association dedicated to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic, is looking to sign up Leaders in the movement "actively working in their communities to change policies and environments to reverse childhood obesity." Kick the Can (among other organizations) posted the NYT comic strip from the Aug. 15 Sunday Review - "The Sugar Water Workout."     Share With A Friend - Sign Up for Our Newsletter Here Facebook Twitter Website YouTube

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Rudd Center July 2015

Rudd Center Recent Publications

Four-Nation Study Finds Weight-Based Bullying is Viewed as Most Prevalent Form of Bullying in Children A new multi-national study led by Rudd Center Deputy Director Rebecca Puhl showed that weight is perceived to be the most common reason children are bullied. The study, published online July 6 in the journal Pediatric Obesity, surveyed 2,866 adults in the United States, Canada, Iceland and Australia. The responses indicated there is substantial public support for policy measures to address weight-based bullying to improve the quality of life for children with obesity.   Rudd Center in the News A July 7 article in The New York Times Well blog by reporter Roni Rabin provided in-depth coverage of Dr. Puhl's multinational study on attitudes about weight-based bullying of children. Brazil's largest online news provider, UOL, carried the article in Portuguese and English on July 16 and O Tempo, a newspaper in one of Brazil's largest cities, published the story on July 19. UConn Today publicized Dr. Puhl's new study in a July 6 article. "Our findings echo recent research from the U.S. showing that parents favor strengthening school-based policies and state laws to address weight-based bullying," Dr Puhl says. "The time may be ripe to implement school-level policy changes to ensure that vulnerable youth are protected." The headline for a July 7 article published by Take Part, a progressive digital news platform, captured the key take-home message of Dr. Puhl's recent study on attitudes about weight-related bullying: "Here's the One Thing That Makes a Kid More Likely to Be Bullied in School." Essential Kids, an online Australian news site for parents, featured Dr. Puhl's study published in Pediatric Obesity in a July 14 article focusing on what parents can do to help their children deal with weight-related bullying.  Another Australian news outlet, The Sydney Morning Herald, published a July 11 story on how doctors in Australia are not immune to the obesity epidemic, with nearly 60 percent of physicians having obesity or overweight. Dr. Puhl commented in this news article on her 2013 study in the International Journal of Obesity, finding that "when patients perceived their doctor to be overweight or obese, they had less trust in their doctor and were less likely to follow their advice."  The New York Times devoted its opinion feature - Room for Debate - to a discussion of the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a quarter century after its passage. Rudd Center Deputy Director Rebecca Puhl contributed a July 26 opinion piece, "A Bright Spot in the Law: Including Obesity," explaining how it is becoming easier for individuals with obesity to obtain protections against weight discrimination. The San Jose Mercury News ran a July 15 article on how the Internet is creating acceptance for all body sizes. Dr. Puhl is quoted in this story about the prevalence of weight discrimination in society, notably in the workplace. The Marin Independent Journal, another California newspaper, published the story on July 27.     News to Chew On   Fortune Big Soda in a froth over proposed new sugar-labeling rules   The Washington Post FDA says consumers should have more details about 'added sugars' in foods U.S. News & World Report FDA: No Calorie Counting Until 2016 Whole Health Source What Properties Make a Food “Addictive”?    Yahoo! News Obesity Action Coalition Launches “Ban the F Word” Movement to End Fat-Shaming   Scope Finding the sweet spot in public health law to regulate sugary drinks Salon Sugar is literally killing us: The stunning fatality rates behind our soda addiction Forbes Mexico Has The Highest Death Rate From Sugary Drinks By A Huge Distance BBC News Tax sugary drinks by 20%, say doctors Quartz The evidence is in: A soda tax works Wired  Mexico's Soda Tax is Working.  The US Should Learn From It. U.S. News & World Report When Your Child Has Obesity: How to Tackle Weight Loss as a Family   CBS News A third of young adults too fat to join military: report   The Telegraph (UK) Remove sugary drinks from children’s diets, health officials say The Washington Post How seltzer water became cooler than Coke The Wall Street Journal Should There Be a Tax on Soda and Other Sugary Drinks?   What's Simmering with Our Friends   Bridging the Gap, a research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released a study showing that school lunches are healthier in U.S. secondary schools following the implementation of revised U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition standards for school meals. The study, published online in the journal Preventive Medicine, showed that students in smaller and more ethnically and racially diverse schools may be particularly benefiting from the new standards, and that these schools are catching up to larger schools and those with predominantly white student populations in serving healthier lunches.   "Anatomy of a Supermarket Purchase," a speed-drawing video (screen shot above) from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, explains the strategies that food companies use "to influence the food choices of even the best intentioned and most disciplined people, often so subtly that we don't even realize it."  In supporting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's proposal to require "percent daily value" for added sugars on nutrition labels for packaged foods, the American Heart Association and the Voices for Healthy Kids Facebook page released and promoted an AHA statement that fully explains the proposal's health and consumer benefits. The AHA statement, "The too-sweet truth: FDA proposes daily value measures on added sugars," notes that, "A study published last year in JAMA: Internal Medicine showed added sugar was associated with higher risk of death by heart disease." In partnership with the American Heart Association, the comedy production company Funny or Die produced a satirical video starring Nick Offerman, the Parks and Recreation star, as a "pizza farmer." The video is part of a campaign to beat back efforts in Congress and by special interests to roll back healthier school lunch standards.   Share With A Friend & Sign Up for Our Newsletter Facebook Twitter Website YouTube

Copyright © 2015 UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, All rights reserved. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Our mailing address is: UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity One Constitution Plaza Suite 600 Hartford, CT 06103 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

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