Law, Business & Healthy Lifestyles
Explore the role that law and regulation might play in responding to child and adolescent obesity? In your discussion, include a reference to laws and developments in the United States.
Introduction
Child and adolescent obesity is a critical issue facing United States populations in populations around the world. For children and adolescents who are aged between 2 and 19 years. The prevalence of obesity is 18%, which constitutes about 14 million children and teenagers. Among children between the ages of 2 and 5, the obesity prevalence is 13%. Among those between 6 and 11 years, the rate is 18%, while among those between 12 and 19-year-olds, the prevalence rate is 20%. Obesity is one the rise among children in the United States and across the world. The highest increase in obesity is among children between 2 to 5 years. The increase has been drastic among young children increasing interest in the issue of obesity.
The topic of obesity among children and adolescents is essential because obesity contributes to serious health issues. Obesity increases the risk of heart diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes. An overweight child or teenager can also develop a range of other health issues. Childhood and teenage obesity also cost healthcare systems, many resources. The medical cost of an obese child or teen can be as high as $20,000 in a lifetime compared to a healthy weight child or adolescent. The paper will explore how law and regulation help to address child and adolescent obesity in the United States. The theme of the essay is how law and regulation address child and adolescent obesity. The paper will be divided into sections on the roles of law and regulation through different aspects such as advertising, product labeling, and consumer information, among others.
Discussion
Ingredient disclosure
Law and regulation respond to child and adolescent obesity by promoting ingredient disclosure. There have been legal and policy efforts to address obesity among children and teenagers. The provision of ingredients and nutritional information of foods and menus is an essential way of guiding consumers to make more healthful food choices. Food systems have changed over time, and in the current society, obesity among children and the youth reflects the growth and success of food companies, restaurants, and fast-food chains, which have influenced the patterns of consumption.
Within the last few decades, the price of fruits, vegetables, and other protein-rich commodities has increased significantly by up to 200%.
. The cost of sugar, sweets, fats, oils, and carbonated drinks has reduced. This change in prices reflects the drastic increase in the consumption of products made with added sugar and fats, which significantly contributed to obesity among children and adolescents. Different governments, including the United States government, have put laws and regulations in place to help reduce obesity among children and teenagers.
The Nutrition labeling education act of 1990
In the United States, the nutrition labeling and education law were passed by congress, giving FDA the authority to require ingredient and nutrition labeling on food packaging. The FDA established nutritional facts for the disclosure of the daily reference value for food components such as fiber, salt, fat, and energy[1]. The FDA did not, however, recommend a limit for sugar and added sugar. The act has been essential in addressing the problem of obesity among children and youth. This is because it has mandated producers to provide information that promotes healthy decision-making among young consumers.
With the powers of the nutrition labeling law, the FDA has been able to protect young people from foods that contribute to obesity by establishing a criterion for manufacturers to make health claims. Manufacturers can not claim that their food is healthy if it contains high and disqualified nutrient levels of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium[2]. Sugar was not included in the labeling law because the FDA expressed that information about sugar would confuse consumers. This is because healthy food can have naturally occurring sugar. An argument for the inclusion of sugar by public health was voiced. However, the FDA noted that sugar is safe and is only a concern when sugar intake increases significantly over the levels of 50 grams. The FDA rejected the public health concerns on added sugar because there was no way of distinguishing between added sugar and naturally occurring sugars in food. The FDA and the ADA state that there was no sufficient evidence that the body has the psychological ability to distinguish between added and naturally occurring sugar in food. However, developments in 2002 and 2005 when the IOM established a recommendation for inclusion of added sugar in the labeling of nutrients in food products. It recommended that added sugar should constitute 25% of the total calories.
The food industry and trade organizations embraced the added sugar recommendations and use it for labeling and advertising healthy foods to children and teenagers. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends limiting the daily intake of added sugar to 4.5% to 6.5% of the total calories, which is 100 calories per day from women and 150 calories for women[3]. Therefore, the law and regulation has played a critical role in responding to the issue of child and teenage obesity in the United States.
Nutrition provision
Child Nutrition Reauthorisation Act
The child nutrition act authorizes various US federal food assistance programs, which help, address the problem of obesity among children and young adults. The act established school breakfast programs and assisted meal programs that offer low cost breakfast and meals to children in public and non-profit making schools and childcare facilities. Under the act, the children participating in the programs received subsidized meals, and snacks. They are offered for free for those who are eligible. Institutions such as schools that offer the nutritional meals to children receive reimbursements from the government[4]. The funding of most of the nutritional programs is based on per meal reimbursements.
The nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC)
The law plays a critical role in limiting child and teenage obesity by providing eligible low-income women, infants and children under the age of five years with specific supplemental food and specific services that promote their well-being. The program offers members with information about nutrition and through the Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP); members are able to get fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables from local farmers, which also helps, in reducing the prevalence of obesity among children and young adults.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
This program addresses the problem of obesity among children and young adults by providing supplement income to low-income families for the purchase of healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables[5]. The program offers needy households with monthly income for purchasing nutritious food as a way of dealing with obesity in the society. Families that qualify for the program receive a debit card for shopping groceries so as to intake nutrition that promotes their health and reduces the risk of development of obesity among children and adolescents. The program is run under the department of agriculture but the benefits are distributed but specific departments such as social services, and human health services[6].
The programs is effective in reducing risks of obesity among children and adolescents because it benefits more than 40 million individuals. More than 9% of households benefit from the SNAP program every year with 16% of the children living in households benefiting from the program. The beneficiaries and cost of this program increase during harsh economic times and reduced when the economy is flourishing. The SNAP program is the largest national programs in the United States and is a key component of the strategies for reducing obesity among low-income citizens in the United States. Consumption of junk food by low-income families is due to the high cost of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. The programs hence assists low-income families to purchase groceries to supplement their diet. It would cost more in treating health problems such as obesity among children and teenagers.
Child and Adult Care Food Program
Another program under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 that is also called the SNAP program is The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which is a program that offers reimbursements to institutions that offer nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children. The children can be childcare centers, daycares and young adults can be in schools of adult day care centers. The program also provides reimbursement for food offered to children and youth registered in afterschool care programs. This can be children that live in temporary shelters, those living with disability, and even adults over the age of 60 years.
The program is effective is responding to child and teenage obesity because it contributed to the wellness, and healthy growth and development of children and young adults in the United States. Every day more approximately 4 million children and more than 100,000 young adults benefit from the nutritious meals and snacks that are provided through the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Law and regulation has played a significant role in address the problem of obesity among children and young adults through the program.
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
This is another program that works to reduce the risk of obesity among children and young adults in the United States. It is a federally assisted program, which is run in public and non-profit making private schools and childcare centers. The program provides nutrition balanced low cost or sometimes free lunches to children in different schools across the country. The program was established in 1946 and continues to help in the fight against obesity, which is a current issue facing children and young adults in the United States. In the year 2018, schools utilizing the program offered more than 4 million lunches to children across the United States.
Updating nutrition
The health, hunger-free kids act of 2010 also has updates the nutrition standards for the low cost school lunch and breakfast meals under section 201. The nutrition standards set are inclusive of food sold within the school environment at any time of the day under s 208. Section 243 of the act offers funding for programs that include locally grown produce on the school menus[7]. The program therefore supports and encourages consumption of locally grown fresh farm produce to reduce the risk of obesity in the child and adolescent population in the United States.
The law also gives the USDA the authority to implement regulations to update the nutrition for the lunch and breakfast programs. The USDA has gone ahead to limit the consumption of foods that contribute to obesity such as French fries and harsh browns among others. It has the limited the consumption of such foods to one cup per week as recommended by the IOM. It recommends that foods rich in starch such as corn, white potatoes, green peas, and lima beans should be limited to a cup every week to encourage students to try vegetables instead.
An important update in nutrition for the above programs is the prevention of tomato sauce and pizza being credited as a vegetable. This update was implemented in 2011 and in addition requires at all fruits and vegetables and their constituents such as pastes and purees to be credited based on volume[8]. This update changed the practice of crediting tomato sauce and puree based on volume and implemented the practice of measuring them based the actual volume served. Under this nutrition update, schools credit tomato sauce and puree based on the actual volume served to students. This update has played a great role in addressing the problem of obesity among children and adolescents by reducing the amount of starch and protein intake. This is because schools are not able to credit a volume of fruit or vegetables that is more than the actual serving size.
Regulation of food marketing and advertising to children
According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), children are vulnerable to marketing and advertising until when they are around the age of 8 years. Below this age, children are susceptible to marketing, and advertising influences because they are do not have the capacity to understand the aim of the commercials, and therefore they perceived the behaviors to be something imitable, which they end up copying once they grow up. The IOM reports that children below the age of 8 years are vulnerable to marketing that promotes consumption of beverages and alcohol with high sugar content, which contributes to obesity. This is because they unable to differentiate between the program content and the unconscious intent of the advertising. The aspect of advertising to sell products and make profit such as with case of alcohol and other beverages is not understand until the early adolescent ages. There is therefore the need to protect children and the youth from media including games and ads that promote unhealthy living.
Such advertisements are restricted to older adults who can be able to understand the advertising effects. In the United States alone, food enterprises spent more than $ 1.8 billion in marketing food products to young adults. The total amount of money spent by companies in marketing the foods in schools is over $150 million. Over 90% of this money was spent on marketing carbonated drinks and sugary beverages, which contribute significantly to child and adolescent obesity. In the year 2012, 50% of middle schools and more than 70% of high school students participated in beverage projects. This only generated small profits for schools and the student’s benefitting the companies only.
Companies are increasingly taking advantage of influential advertising to market beverages and alcohol drinks to children and the youth contributing to increased consumption, which causes obesity. The United States government has made an effort to develop laws and regulation that limit the advertising of beverages that have high sugar content to children because they contribute to the risk of obesity. The IOM reports that food marketing to children and young adults strongly influences children and adolescent preference and consumption of the food and drinks products advertised through television. It also emphasizes that the food and drinks advertising through television is linked to development of obesity among children and the youth.
Alcohol Beverage Advertising Act of San Francisco
San Francisco became the first district in the United States to pass the Alcohol and beverage advertising law that play a critical role in addressing the problem of obesity among children and the youth. Voters in the area passed the law in June 2015. It is the first type of law that regulates advertising of drinking beverages that contain added sugars. The law requires that warning signs and labels be labelled on beverages with added sugars and say that drinking beverages with added sugars contributed to increased risk of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. The law also requires for the warning sign or label to cover 20% of the space within a product packaging[9].
San Francisco communicated its clear objective of protecting children and the youth in the communities from the prevalence of obesity, which has become a critical issue in the United States. The health warnings effectively respond to the issue of obesity among children and young adults by providing people and especially young ones the information they need to make informed decisions on the type of beverages they consume. It is clear that advertising influences the consumption of sugary beverages and therefore putting a warning sign on the products goes a long way in reducing their consumption. The health warnings show which drinks are harmful and which ones are not. The law requiring health warnings on beverages with added sugars is effective and accurate because it is proven through research that sugary drinks contribute to obesity among other diseases such as diabetes and heart diseases.
Soda is not the only carbonated drink ta by the law.
The display of warnings is required for all drinks that have 25 or more calories of sugar. The drinks include energy drinks, vitamin waters, various types of juices, iced teas, and milk vegetable juice among other drinks. The only drinks that are exempted from the display of warning labels are fruit juices that are made from natural fruits[10]. An assessment of drinks such as coke t of carbonated drinks such as coke reveals that it has 39 grams of added sugar, which is about 9 teaspoons. Each teaspoon has approximately 16 calories which means that an entire coke drinks contains about 140 calories because of the sugar levels.
The Sanfransico law has pave the way for the implementation of similar strategies for reducing obesity among children and the youth in local settings. By consuming just one bottle of a drink with added sugars every day, a person can gain up to 5 pounds annually. The number of children drinking sugar drinks has increase over the years. This means that there has been an increased risk of development of obesity among children in the United States and across the world. Currently, one-third of children and adults in the United States are obese highlighting the importance and role of the Alcohol Beverage Advertising regulation.
Companies producing sugary drinks that do not wish to follow the law need to find alternative ways of advertising their products such as through newspapers, internet advertising, circulars and outlets, which are advertising approaches that are not covered in the legislation. The channels are the only way companies will be able to market sugary drinks to consumers without warning them of the health dangers that they are exposed to first. The aim of the law is to have the same effect the warning labels placed on cigarettes have. The warnings messages and symbols that are placed on tobacco products have been effective in reducing the consumption of tobacco products.
Argument against the Sanfransico law
The law was later blocked through an appeal to the amusement of beverage manufactures and distributors who were against the warning on beverage warning labelling for sugar added drinks. In a case between American beverage association vs. city of San Francisco, the court of appeal ruled in favor of the association on the basis that the law is unconstitutional and infringes on the freedom of commercial speech, which is accorded to individuals by the first amendment. The ruling for the blocking of the law was passed by 11 members of the panel and was a significant achievement for the beverage industry, which consists of retailers, and advertisers who were opposed to the ordinance law.
The first amendment gives individuals the freedom of speech and therefore limits the extent to which the government can control advertising through laws even if it is the advertising of alcoholic drinks. Generally, the first amendment allows for laws that protect consumers through promoting truthfulness of advertisers and preventing deception of the public. They are obligate to provide enough information to consumers of the benefits and enable them to make informed decisions about what the product contains. The San Francisco law was effective in responding to the problem of obesity in the society and the effort is laudable. However, it was unconstitutional and infringed the provisions of the first amendment, which gives individuals the freedom of speech.
The judges therefore found the law to be in offence of the first amendment and it was therefore blocked from being operational. The law was also found to be burdensome to player in the beverage industry. The 20% space allocation for warning message in sugar drinks was not justified when compared to the burden it places on the freedom of speech, which is provided for by the constitution. For a health and safety warning law to be in line with the constitution, it needs to be based purely on facts, be non-controversial, and not put unjustified burden on any population. The San Francisco law did not the above requirements.
The Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI)
This is another legislation that has been critical in regulating food and beverage advertising to children and young adults. It has been useful in reducing obesity rates in the United States. The legislation was implemented in 2007 in response to the public health problem of obesity among the young population, which has been increasing over the last decade. The legislation was passed by 10 food enterprises that pledged to strive to promote healthy living by advertising healthier dietary options in advertising to children. The law also prohibits the use of products in food advertising for children as well the marketing of food commodities in elementary schools. Children are exposed to more than 10 food-related advertisements per day as they watch television[11].
Half of this advertisements air during programs for children such as cartoons. The number of advertisements therefore is poised to increase since children love to spend a fraction of their time watching television and some watch television even during times unfavorable to children. More than 95% of the food and beverage items advertised with the exception of those from restaurants seen by children are items that have amounts of nutrients exceeding the required limit. The FBAI has different nutrient restrictions, which the restriction on sugar level being 13 grams for all food and beverage items.
The FBAI has been appropriate in the reduction of obesity rates among children and the youth as evidenced by the decrease in advertising of candy to children. Four large manufactures of candy, which are, nestle, Mars, Hershey and Kraft under the FBAI voluntary legislation pledged to reduce the marketing and advertising of candy and candy products to children. The legislation is therefore effective for monitoring and controlling advertising to young consumers. An argument against this initiative is that instead of reducing the implementation of the initiative by companies has increased candy related advertisements.
The legislation is also perceived to be less effective because it controls advertising directed at children leaving out those that are not directed at children but still influence their consumption behavior leading to obesity. Children are exposed to many candy advertisements during other programs, which are not for children but for a wide range of people. The FBAI a good evidence of how child-related advertising can be used to reduce the exposure of children to unhealthy foods and beverages.
New York City soda ban legislation
The mayor of New York passed this legislation in 2013 limiting the sale of sweetened drinks that exceed 0.47litres. The board of health supported the establishment of the legislation as a means of combating obesity among children and young adults and promoting healthier lifestyles. The soda ban legislation established in New York was the first of its kind in the United States and played a great role in fighting obesity among children and young people.
The legislation was however scraped after players in the beverage industry challenged it. The highest court ruled that the legislation created an uneven playing field for all small and medium enterprises in New York and that is was contrary to the freedom of choice offered by the first amendment[12]. The court rules in favor of the soft drink industry, which had challenged the legislation. The court also ruled that the health board overreached its authority in approving the regulation. Sugar added drinks contribute to more than 40 % the sugar levels in the average American diet. The increase in drinks has driven the fight against obesity through legislation. More than 40% of New York children between the ages of 6 and 12 consume more than 1 sugary drink per day compared to 30% of adults.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that law and regulation has can play a significant role in addressing he problem of obesity. The laws and regulations are divided according to three themes of disclosure of ingredient and nutrition components of food, nutrition provision, and advertising and marketing of beverage products to children. Law and regulation responds to child and adolescent obesity by promoting ingredient disclosure. Through disclosure requirements, there is the provision of ingredient and nutritional information of foods and menus as a way of guiding consumers to make more healthful food choices. The Child Nutrition Reauthorisation Act has played a significant role in reducing obesity in the society through the formulation of different food assistance programs for low-income families.
The child nutrition act authorizes has the been one of the most effective law because of the more than 5 programs under it which help address the problem of obesity among children and young adults. Lastly, there are legislations that regulate food marketing and advertising to children and act to reduce the exposure of children to advertisements that promote unhealthy eating especially the consumption of sugar added drinks. According to research, the food and beverage marketing influences the preferences, purchase, and consumption of the unhealthy beverages in the short term.
Although the law and legislation have been effective in responding to the problem of obesity among children and the youth, they have also faced criticism especially from the beverage association and those in the beverage industry. Some of the laws, which have been scrapped, include the advertising law in San Francisco and the New York City soda ban legislation. There should be the establishment of more laws, regulations that promote healthy living among children in the United States because they are effective in addressing the problem of obesity in the society despite the different criticism against the laws and regulations.
Bibliography
Consolidated And Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 2012.
Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010
Billings, Kara C. and Randy A. Aussenberg, “An Introduction To Child Nutrition Reauthorization”, Fas.Org (Webpage, 2019) <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF10266.pdf>
Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann, Stefan and Josephine M. Wills, “Nutrition Labeling To Prevent Obesity: Reviewing The Evidence From Europe” (2012) 1(3) Current Obesity Reports
Schermbeck, Rebecca M. and Lisa M. Powell, “Nutrition Recommendations And The Children’S Food And Beverage Advertising Initiative’S 2014 Approved Food And Beverage Product List” (2015) 12 Preventing Chronic Disease
Reuters, “New York’s Top Court Rules NYC Sugary Drink Ban Is Illegal”, CNBC (Webpage, 2014) <https://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/26/new-yorks-top-court-rules-nyc-sugary-drink- ban-is-illegal.html>.
Reuters, “New York’s Top Court Rules NYC Sugary Drink Ban Is Illegal”, CNBC (Webpage, 2014) https://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/26/new-yorks-top-court-rules-nyc-sugary-drink-ban-is-illegal.html
SB-347 Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Safety Warnings 2019.
[1]. Stefan Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann and Josephine M. Wills, “Nutrition Labeling To Prevent Obesity: Reviewing The Evidence From Europe” (2012) 1(3) Current Obesity Reports.
- Stefan Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann and Josephine M. Wills, “Nutrition Labeling To Prevent Obesity: Reviewing The Evidence From Europe” (2012) 1(3) Current Obesity Reports.
- Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010
- Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010
- Kara C. Billings and Randy A. Aussenberg, “An Introduction To Child Nutrition Reauthorization”, Fas.Org (Webpage, 2019) <https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IF10266.pdf>.
- Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010
- Consolidated And Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012 2012.
- B-347 Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Safety Warnings 2019.
- SB-347 Sugar-Sweetened Beverages: Safety Warnings 2019.
- Rebecca M. Schermbeck and Lisa M. Powell, “Nutrition Recommendations And The Children’S Food And Beverage Advertising Initiative’S 2014 Approved Food And Beverage Product List” (2015) 12 Preventing Chronic Disease
- Reuters, “New York’s Top Court Rules NYC Sugary Drink Ban Is Illegal”, CNBC (Webpage, 2014)