The fast food industry is notorious for targeting children in their marketing campaigns1.

Kid's meals, kid-centric advertising, cartoon characters and endorsements from popular movies and TV shows mean a large portion of the industry's demographic is children2.

At a time when obesity is of utmost concern, it's important that our children grow up with healthy habits and nutritional guidance3.

While adults are able to think more critically about their food choices, children can be easily influenced by gimmicks and advertising. In the early 1970s, the Federal Communications Commission considered a proposal to ban advertising to audiences of young children, following findings that it was a detriment to developmental health. Those efforts were later shut down by Congress, under pressure from the television and advertising industry4.

The health of our children should be more important than helping a corporate bottom line.

We need to call on the fast food industry to take responsibility for its role in childhood obesity. Sign the petition and ask major fast food corporations to cease marketing to children.

More on this issue:

1. Public Health Nutrition (18 April 2017), "Child-targeted fast-food television advertising exposure is linked with fast-food intake among pre-school children."
2. Mary Story, Simone French, International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2004), "Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US."
3. Nia Mitchell, Vicki Catenacci, Holly R. Wyatt, James O. Hill, Psychiatric Clinics of North America (1 December 2012), "Obesity: Overview of an Epidemic."
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (5 April 2021), "Childhood Obesity Facts."
5. Brian Wilcox, Joanne Cantor, Peter Dowrick, Dale Kunkel, Susan Linn, Edward Palmer, Task Force on Advertising and Children (18 February 2004), "Report of the Task Force on Advertising and Children."