Here’s the good news: It’s been announced that 11 major food marketers have now pledged to advertise only foods that meet certain nutritional standards to kids under 12.  They are Cadbury Adams, Campbell, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Hershey, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Mars, McDonald’s, Pepsi and Unilever.

Here’s the bad news:   Burger King, ConAgra, Nestle and Chuck E. Cheese aren’t among them.

Here’s the worst news:  Apparently all the companies will continue to advertise too-sweet, too-salty, too-fatty foods to kids and everyone else over 12.

Ok, ‘fess up—when was the last time you ate Cap’n Crunch, Trix or Chocolate Lucky Charms instead of plain old Wheaties for breakfast?  If you are under 50, it probably wasn’t very long ago, being as you’re the generation that fought with your mothers over buying sugar-coated cereals—and often won.  And henceforth, you have a yen for all that early morning sweetness.  And maybe you’re also battling the mid-life bulges that have built up over the years from eating habit-forming junk food.  A difficult challenge.  Or less euphemistically, a rotten problem.

So while we can congratulate the companies who appear to be doing some mea culpas for contributing to the country’s obesity epidemic, we can also ask:  Why are they stopping at 12 years old? 

But, then we ask ourselves that old free-to-be-me question:  Are food companies and marketers responsible for an individual’s obesity, or is each individual responsible for her/his own weight in life?  And we get the standard answer:  It’s obvious that only individuals can feed themselves—no company or marketer has been observed force-feeding Americans. 

But wait.  If companies didn’t think sugary, salty and fatty products would sell best, they wouldn’t produce them, would they?  And if marketers didn’t think their ads and promotions influenced people (no matter what age) to buy them, they wouldn’t be marketing them, would they?

Next time you are in a U.S. airport, mall, and yes, even a hospital corridor, watch America walk by.  And then ask yourself if stopping the bad ads at age 12 is enough to help stem the tide of obesity-related health problems looming on the horizon for so many, many children, adolescents and adults. 

So here’s a novel idea:  Companies could make a far greater difference by making their products nutritional for all ages, and then it’s a no-brainer for marketers to promote them.  Or is that asking too much?

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