The National Policy and Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN) and the Food Marketing Workgroup hosted a webinar to provide an insider’s view of the recently released Interagency Working Group (IWG) standards for foods marketed to children. Guest speakers were Margo Wootan of CSPI, Michelle Rusk of the FTC, Lori Dorfman of the Berkeley Media Studies Group, and Bill Dietz of the CDC.

Food and beverage companies spend approximately $2 billion per year marketing mainly fatty, salty, and sugar-laden products to children. Not surprisingly, this marketing affects children’s diets and health. A childhood pattern of consuming nutrient-poor, calorie-laden food and drinks leads to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.

With the goal of promoting children’s health, Congress directed the IWG—comprised of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture—to provide industry with recommended standards for food marketing to children under 17.

Resources and archives of the webinar are available here.