Childhood obesity plagues NY. Will new bill targeting false, predatory food ads curb it?

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• In New York, outside New York City, rates of obesity among children and adolescents in public school districts have increased more than 13% since the COVID-19 pandemic began, state data show.
• Nearly 20% of elementary students and 22% of middle and high school students are obese, the most recent state data show.
• State lawmakers say strengthening laws to crackdown on false and predatory marketing of unhealthy foods to kids is key to curbing the obesity epidemic.

False, misleading and predatory advertising for unhealthy foods that targets children in New York would face new prohibition under state legislation seeking to curb the childhood obesity epidemic.

The bill, also known as the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act, would strengthen state laws that control food advertising to stop “junk food companies” from pushing addictive and unhealthy products on children, who are uniquely vulnerable to false and misleading ads, state lawmakers asserted.

The stakes are crystal clear as nearly one-third of New York’s children are obese of overweight, state lawmakers noted, adding “the fast food industry specifically targets advertising towards disadvantaged communities with just enough money to spend on cheap fast food and little access to reliable nutrition information.”

“Food-related companies spend almost $14 billion per year on advertising, of which 80% promote fast food, surgery drinks, candy, and other unhealthy snacks,” lawmakers added.

Childhood obesity is rising in NY

Still, cracking down on false and misleading food advertising has proven difficult historically, in part, due to food, soda and candy companies spending millions of dollars to influence lawmaking debates at the state and federal level, according to Open Secrets and state lobbying records.

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State lawmakers in New York introduced prior versions of the Predatory Marketing Prevention Act in 2021 and 2023, but they renewed the push this year after state health officials spotlighted the increasingly urgent need to combat rising rates of childhood obesity.

For children ages 2 to 18, obesity is having a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for their age and sex.

In New York, outside New York City, rates of obesity among children and adolescents in public school districts have increased more than 13% since the COVID-19 pandemic began, health officials reported in September. Nearly 20% of elementary students and 22% of middle and high school students are obese, the most recent state data show.

Obesity hits communities of color hardest

Food companies are also specifically targeting Black and brown neighborhoods to advertise sugary products, state lawmakers noted, citing robust research on the racialized marketing of unhealthy food and beverages.

Further, New Yorkers living and working in lower-income neighborhoods are almost twice as likely to fall victim to predatory marketing of unhealthy foods than those in higher-income communities, lawmakers added, citing a CUNY Urban Food Policy Institute survey.

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Some of the groups at heightened risk of obesity include adolescents, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black children and children with family income 130% or less of the Federal Poverty Level, or about $42,000 for a family of four, state health officials said.

Should unhealthy food be restricted like other addictive products?

Highly processed foods share similar characteristics to alcohol, narcotics, and other addictive substances, state lawmakers noted in pushing for the new restrictions on false and misleading food ads.

Research indicates that the chemical composition of these highly processed foods may alter peoples’ physiology to promote overeating and metabolic dysfunction, lawmakers added.

The Legislature, state lawmakers asserted, “is morally obligated to protect the public from predatory marketing of junk food,” arguing the bill was consistent with the state’s ongoing efforts to “curb the disastrous health outcomes” associated with the overconsumption of drugs and alcohol.