Marketing Foods to Children: Are We Asking the Right Questions?

The childhood obesity epidemic has prompted a range of regulatory initiatives that seek to reduce the impact of food marketing on children. Policy recommendations by government and public health organizations have suggested regulating the promotion of high-sugar, -fat, and/or -salt foods to children, while the food industry has created voluntary nutrition guidelines to channel child-targeted marketing toward only "better-for-you" products. This article argues that the overarching focus on the nutrient profile of foods (nutritionism) is wrong-headed: The slippage in terms from "better-for-you" foods to "healthy dietary choices" is problematic and also makes it difficult for children to identify the healthy choice. Nutritionism further works to sidestep important questions pertaining to the ethics of food marketing, not to mention the way that marketing foods as fun and entertainment works to encourage overeating in children.