The Chair of the Federal Communications Commission today announced the creation of a task force to study the relationship between television and childhood obesity.

Children watch two to four hours of TV a day, Kevin Martin noted at a press conference, viewing 40,000 advertisements a year, most for candy, cereal, and junk food. "And while the amount of television watched by American kids has been increasing in the past twenty-five years, so have their waistlines," he added.

Martin appeared with United States Senator Sam Brownback, Republican from Kansas, who said that the task force will consist of representatives from the FCC, Congress, advocacy groups, and the private sector. The group will meet throughout next year, and produce a report recommending voluntary steps government and the private sector can take to deal with the problem.

"Judging by the sheer volume of media and advertising that children consume on a daily basis, and given alarming trends in childhood obesity, we're facing a public health problem that will only get worse unless we take action," Brownback told reporters.

Martin and Brownback cited a recent Institute for American Medicine study concluding that one-third of American children are either at risk for obesity or are obese. Several years ago the Center for Disease Control disclosed that the proportion of overweight children ages 6-11 has doubled while the number of overweight adolescents has tripled.

Appearing with Martin and Brownbeck were representatives from Children Now, the Benton Foundation, Disney, and the Parents Television Council.

The announcement comes a day after the FCC revised its rules for advertising on children's programs broadcast on digital television.

Bookmark/Search this post with: