Satcher’s Obesity Plan Should Challenge Ads, Some Say

HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and Surgeon General David Satcher will introduce a campaign today to fight obesity in Americans, but they will face "determined and well funded opposition" by "scores of companies dedicated to keeping the country fat and happy," MPR's "Marketplace" reports. Media observers wonder whether a government program aimed at "keeping the pounds off kids" will have "a chance of success" unless it focuses on fast food advertising targeting children. Gary Ruskin, executive director of Commercial Alert, an organization monitoring commercial culture, said that Channel One, a television network used in schools, is "the most notable instance" of marketing focused on children. The network reaches eight million children in 12,000 schools across the country and carries two minutes of advertisements daily. Center for Media Education President Kathryn Montgomery said, "We need to make these companies more accountable and expose the very sophisticated practices they've developed for targeting kids" (Henn, "Marketplace," MPR, 12/13).