Parents speak out against marketing unhealthy foods to children

Parents joined in protest against the unhealthy food marketing campaigns targeting children at the “Through Our Own Eyes” photo exhibit. Members of St. Francis Medical Center’s Choose Health L.A. Kids hosted the event June 16.

The exhibit showcased the many ways advertisements promote unhealthy foods and beverages through popular media.

“Parents discussed the influence of food advertising on their own children, efforts to document these marketing practices, and strategies for addressing them,” said Pamela Carmona, Choose Health L.A. Kids project manager at St. Francis Medical Center. “These images can have a strong influence on our children’s and our own purchasing and eating habits, without us even realizing it.”

The event also provided an opportunity for parents to learn from and discuss with the event’s guest speakers: Steve Baldwin, program director at Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and José Luis Solache, mayor of the City of Lynwood.

Drawing from the 2015 publication, “Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing to Children,” the event focused on how advertisements targeted at children encourage foods with unhealthy amounts of sugars, fat and salt. These engrained food choices can lead to childhood obesity.

The event also referenced health experts who agree that an unchecked obesity epidemic could result in unprecedented diabetes among children. In the U.S., one-third of children born in the year 2000 would likely suffer from the disease.

For more information about the initiative, please visit stfrancis.dochs.org.