3/28/2007

And now a word from our sponsor

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Kaiser Family Foundation has released a study showing that food is the number one product featured in television advertisements aimed at children. Candy and snacks are the most advertised foods, followed by fast food. This is particularly alarming given the nation's rising obesity rate.

You'll recall that Richard Scheines, head of the Department of Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon and an expert in causal discovery, examined the impact of television advertising aimed at children as part of the Committee on Food Marketing and the Diets of Youths and Children. Scheines concluded that while television advertising does influence children's behavior, there is insufficient evidence to tie TV commercials directly to childhood obesity. 

Jonathan Potts