According to the second report released by the “Make America Healthy Again” Commission on Tuesday, September 9th, the US federal government will require food and beverage companies to self-regulate their marketing activities targeting children by promoting healthy meals and restricting advertising for unhealthy foods.
The “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission under the Trump administration is led by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and is responsible for investigating the childhood health epidemic as claimed by its supporters.
Critics argue that this approach of collaborating with the industry instead of imposing strict regulations on regulatory agencies has received backlash from some public health experts, such as Marion Nestle, former nutrition professor at New York University, who has been studying food marketing for decades.
Nestle stated that the food and restaurant industry has profited significantly from marketing unhealthy foods to children and is unlikely to self-impose restrictions without being compelled to do so. She mentioned, “They won’t stop unless they are forced to.”
However, Michelle Korsmo, Chair of the National Restaurant Association, praised the report of the “Make America Healthy Again” Commission, believing that it encourages restaurant owners to strike a balance between providing delicious meals for customers and offering healthier options, and expressed willingness to provide assistance in this process.
While advertising in the US is typically regulated by the Federal Trade Commission, there are limitations on regulating marketing targeting children under a law enacted in 1980.
According to estimates from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut, food, beverage, and restaurant companies spend nearly $14 billion annually on food advertising in the US, with fast food being the most advertised food category targeting children and adolescents on television.
Many restaurants and food companies have voluntarily engaged in a program to restrict their advertising to children. In recent months, these companies have lobbied the White House and Congress on nutrition issues, including lobbying the “Make America Healthy Again” Commission.
(This article references reporting by Reuters.)