Food manufacturers including Nestlé, Hershey and Kraft Foods have published their own uniform guidelines on the nutritional content of products advertised to US children. The criteria, published yesterday, are an attempt to regain the initiative over the issue from the US government, which has put forward plans for criteria for the food industry to follow. The US government, which is facing rising levels of obesity, published its set of “voluntary principles” in April and invited public... ...Read more »

SPC Ardmona has announced the release of three new fruit snacks aimed at kids of all ages into supermarkets across Australia. The Coca-Cola Amatil subsidiary said the three snacks, SPC Fruit Squeezies, SPC Fruit Crush-Ups and SPC Power Pulp, are designed specifically to make fruit fun for kids of all ages, from preschoolers to teens. “According to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, kids aged four to 18 should eat between one and five serves of fruit each day. However the latest National... ...Read more »

UK supermarket chain Tesco is launching a healthy-eating range for children in the UK called Tesco Goodness, which is already on sale at its stores in the US.The range is a selection of healthy snacks, convenient chilled prepared meals and lunchbox fillers developed to meet children’s nutritional needs, the UK retailer said. It is also the first own-label range to be introduced to the UK market from Tesco’s international business. Goodness is already available in Tesco’s Fresh &... ...Read more »

Children’s exposure to television advertising for unhealthy fast food has not changed since the introduction of industry self-regulation, and fast food ads are significantly more frequent overall, according to new research from the University of Sydney. The research, led by dietician Lana Hebden and published in the Medical Journal of Australia today, analysed all TV ads broadcast during a four-day sample period, in both May 2009 and April 2010. The Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry... ...Read more »

Overweight girls lose more weight and can better stay on a healthy diet if they eat sugar-free, low-fat desserts several times weekly, as opposed to their choice of dessert once a week, according to a new study by the Athens University School of Medicine. “Dieters commonly splurge on dessert once a week, usually choosing fattening items,” said lead investigator Antonia Dastamani, MD, PhD, a pediatrician and research fellow at Athens University School of Medicine. “However, we found... ...Read more »

The South Australian Health Minister, John Hill, has announced new results from the Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service showing a decline in the percentage of four year-old children in South Australia who are overweight or obese. In 2003, 20.1 percent of four year-olds were overweight or obese; in 2009 that had fallen to 18.3 percent. The Children, Youth and Women’s Health Service measures the height and weight of 4-5 year-old children to monitor the weight status of preschool children... ...Read more »

McDonalds has defended their iconic Happy Meals against a lawsuit alleging that the fast food company’s use of toys is unfair and deceptive marketing, and lures children into unhealthy choices. America’s Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) announced in June that they would sue McDonalds if McDonalds continued to include toys in the meal, and yesterday announced their support for California mother-of-two Monet Parham in filing her class-action lawsuit against the company. “I... ...Read more »

A new study by Cornell University suggests that the simplest way to persuade kids to make healthy food choices in school canteens is to make them easy and appealing. In one set of schools examined, sales of fruit increased by 100% when it was moved to a colorful bowl. Salad bar sales tripled when the cart was placed in front of cash registers. The conclusion of six different studies with over 11,000 middle and high school studies show that psychology and economics might be better than outlawing tasty... ...Read more »

Spain has launched a new law to curb the sale of “junk” food, snacks and drinks in the country’s schools to tackle growing obesity rates, the Health Ministry announced on Friday (September 3). The legislation seeks to promote “healthy” food menus in schools, and will force the food industry to use new technologies to minimise trans-fat content in food products aimed at school children. According to the ministry, 9.13% of kids under 15 are obese and 18.4% are overweight.... ...Read more »

A new report by Datamonitor, Kids Nutrition: New Perspectives and Opportunities, suggests that more than one third of European children are overweight or obese, a problem they attribute to rising prosperity. Europe and America continue to lead the world in childhood obesity levels, but the report suggests that the rest of the world is not far behind. Studies in Australia show that childhood obesity is definitely on the rise, with a 2003 Victorian study showing 26.7% of 7-11 year olds as overweight... ...Read more »