Parents Accept Responsibility, Support Action on Childhood Obesity

November 3, 2012 — The Los Angeles Times reported on the results of what is believed to be the first-ever study of parents’ attitudes toward food marketing to children. The online study was conducted among 2,454 parents of children ages 2-17 by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Researchers at Rudd discovered that parents place 60% of the responsibility for rising childhood obesity on their own shoulders, assigning the rest of the blame to an unhealthy food environment.

The top three barriers to healthy eating reported by parents were expense of healthy foods, easy access to unhealthy food and children’s exposure to media and food advertising. In the report, the Rudd Center has called for stronger rules covering food advertising aimed at children. The food industry began to actively self-regulate itself beginning in 2006, but Rudd says the self-regulation has driven only modest change and more is needed.

You can read the LA Times story here and the full report from the Rudd Center here.