Sip & Savor readers know we often share our perspective on specific issues.  One such topic has been marketing to children. Earlier this year we blogged about our industry’s responsible marketing practices, and also shared the findings of some research that showed dramatic changes in food and beverage ads viewed by children.  Despite all of this good news, an Interagency Working Group (IWG) issued draft “voluntary principals” that propose significant changes to current food marketing practices with little, if any, evidence that these changes will achieve the intended goal of reducing childhood obesity.

That’s not just our perspective.  Today, we thought we’d share with you a new report from the Bernard Center For Women, Politics & Public Policy on this very topic.  In fact, according to a press release, the authors’ analysis concludes that the proposed guidelines would not lower the childhood obesity rate, and would have unintended consequences, costing “hundreds of thousands of jobs” and increasing the price of food for low-income families.

We encourage you to read the report to learn more about the authors’ policy suggestions that will have real impact on childhood obesity, rather than the far-reaching bans on advertising and marketing proposed by the IWG.