Task Force on Media & Childhood Obesity The information on this Web site is provided as a service to its readers. While the Commission participates in the Task Force, it does not manage or control its activities.
The Federal Communications Commission has been involved in children's television issues for more than 45 years. As early as 1960 the Commission recognized that, as part of their obligation as trustees of the public airwaves, television broadcasters must provide programming that serves the particular needs of children. In the 1990 Children's Television Act, Congress directed the Commission to take specific steps to ensure that television broadcasters serve the child audience. As Congress stated, "it is difficult to think of an interest more substantial than the promotion of the welfare of children who watch so much television and rely upon it for so much of the information they receive."
The FCC has adopted children's television rules related to two areas: (1) the obligation of television broadcasters to provide educational and informational programming for children and (2) the requirement that television broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite providers protect children from excessive and inappropriate commercial messages. The Commission recently concluded a proceeding that extended its children's television rules to apply to digital as well as analog television stations. It also imposed limits on the display of Internet addresses used for advertising during television programs directed to children.
Children today spend many hours each day watching television and are influenced by the programming and advertising they see. As the incidence of childhood obesity rises, there is an opportunity for the Commission to use its experience and expertise in children's television issues to examine the impact of the media on this growing health concern. Members of the Commission will take part in the Task Force on Media and Childhood Obesity, which will assemble representatives from the media, advertising, food, and beverage industries, along with consumer advocacy groups and health experts. The Task Force will meet throughout 2007 in an effort to build consensus regarding voluntary steps and goals that the public and private sectors can take to combat childhood obesity. The Task Force will issue a report at the conclusion of its work.
Did You Know:
The Institute of Medicine has found that one-third of American children are either obese or at risk for obesity. (Institute of Medicine Fact Sheet, 2004)
The Center for Disease Control has found that, since 1980, the proportion of overweight children ages 6-11 has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled. (CDC, "Overweight Among U.S. Children and Adolescents," National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Jan. 5, 2004)
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, children under 6 cannot distinguish between programming content and advertising. (Kaiser Family Foundation, Role of Media in Childhood Obesity, Feb. 2004)
The Advertising Coalition reports that that $10 to $15 billion is spent annually on kids’ food advertising.
By the time the average child is 18 years old, he or she has spent between 10,000 and 15,000 hours watching television and has been exposed to more than 200,000 commercials. (U.S. Congress, Children's Television Act of 1990)
