Do you know what your children are eating?

For as far as I can remember, my husband and I have managed to limit our children’s intake of junk foods and sweets to Sundays only. Because of that, our children have looked forward to Sundays and have savored every candy or chips they’ve saved for that special day. Often, our friends would tell us how gladly our children would receive the treats that were given them, only to reserve these for a Sunday. We are actually amazed at how they have managed to learn the delayed gratification of their desires. As a result, my children enjoy treats despite their allergies and we have managed to keep their teeth healthy and cavity-free. They have also been more open to trying out a variety of foods that include fruits and vegetables.

Our children have grown a little older and seeing how they have evolved into individuals who know how to control themselves when it comes to sweets and junk food, my husband has now given them a little more freedom to consume chips whenever they like.

I noticed them coming home with chips almost every day and have since started to develop some allergic symptoms. I reminded my son Donny that perhaps he should minimize his intake of cheesy chips since he is allergic to it. He said to me, "But Ma, this has vitamin A which is good for my body." I agreed with him but emphasized that the amount of vitamin A in the chips is not enough to protect him from the harmful effects that are causing his body to lower his resistance towards his allergies. I know, of course, that it would take a lot of creative bombarding of my views to my son as I compete with how companies have managed to convince children that junk is good for them. I’m ready for it and I’m happy to report that some others are, too.

The Center for Science in Public Interest, based in Washington DC, USA, has reported the following findings about food marketing to children:

1. Each day, children receive about 58 commercial messages from television alone, about half of which are for food.

2. Much of the ads received by our children promotes high-calorie or low-nutrition foods and weakens parents’ efforts to provide healthful diets for their kids.

3. There may be several factors which affect our children’s food choices, but studies show that food marketing attracts kids’ attention and affects their food preferences and choices.

4. The amount of marketing aimed at kids has doubled in the last 10 years from $7 billion to $15 billion a year.

The CSPI has released a set of guidelines for responsible food marketing to children, which calls on food manufacturers, broadcasters, restaurants, movie studios, and schools to reform the way drinks, snacks, fast-food meals, and other foods are marketed to kids. The CSPI is proposing basic nutritional thresholds for determining which foods should be marketed to kids in the first place. The guidelines were developed with input from experts from the academe, government, and industry.

CSPI’s guidelines urge companies to:

1. Stop marketing low-nutrition drinks like soda, sports drinks, and sweetened ice tea to kids. They could instead market drinks that contain at least 50 percent fruit juice and no added caloric sweeteners; water and seltzer without added caloric sweeteners; and low-fat and fat-free milk, including flavored milks.

2. Provide kids with some basic nutrients, and to have:

• Less than 30 percent of total calories from fat (excluding fat from nuts, seeds, and peanut or other nut butters);

• Less than 10 percent of calories from saturated plus trans fat;

• Less than 25 percent of calories from added sugars; and

• No more than 150 milligrams (mg) of sodium per serving of snack items; no more than 480 mg per serving for soups, pastas, meats, and main dishes; and no more than 600 mg for meals.

3. Refrain from using certain commonly used techniques to market low-nutrition foods to kids, including:

• Advertising on television shows for which more than a quarter of the audience is children. Foods like Mrs. Butterworth’s Little Dunkers, for example, could not be advertised on Nickelodeon’s children’s programming.

• Product or brand placements in media aimed at kids, including movies, television shows, video games, web sites, and books. For instance, Burger King could not pay to place its products in Warner Bros.’ Scooby-Doo 2.

• Licensing agreements or cross-promotions with kid-oriented movies or television programs, or use of cartoon or fictional characters from such programs. Burger King could not use SpongeBob SquarePants to promote burgers and fries, Hostess Twinkies couldn’t use Shrek, or the movie Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events could not be used to promote Procter & Gamble’s Sunny Delight.

• The use of curricula, fundraising activities, educational incentives, or other school-based sales or marketing of junk food. The guidelines would prohibit programs like those used by Pizza Hut and Chuck E. Cheese, which use junk food to reward academic achievement.

I wonder if we could apply the same guidelines in our country so we parents can be more confident in our efforts to promote a healthy lifestyle for our children.

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E-mail author at mommytalk@businessworks.com.ph.