Walt Disney banned Junk Food Advertisements on Kid’s Programmes

The Walt Disney Company on 6 June 2012 announced to ban the junk food advertisements on kid’s programmes. The decision taken by the senior management of the company, made it the first media company to ban junk-food ads on programmes made for children.
Disney necessitated new guidelines for the commercials of food and beverages products on Disney XD and Disney-owned ABC television stations. Disney Channel and Disney Junior, which are not ad-supported but receive brand sponsorships, would also be covered under the nutrition guidelines.

Food and beverage advertisers who want their products to get endorsed on Disney Channel or Disney XD will have to meet various guidelines such as serving size, calories, fat and sugar content by 2015. The guidelines are aimed at reducing the obesity among the children.

Junk food are considered to be one of the most vital reasons of obesity among the people across the world. In USA more than two-thirds of the entire population are overweight and 30 per cent suffer from obesity, in addition to that there has also been a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. In the United States, the percentage of overweight or obese children has doubled over the past 30 years to 25 per cent of the under-19 population.

What is Junk Food?

Junk food is a term used for food that contains high level of calories and little nutritional components. The term Junk Food was coined by Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, in 1972.