Democrats call on Nickelodeon to stop airing junk food ads

A group of Senate Democrats demanded that Nickelodeon, children’s cable TV channel, stop airing commercials for unhealthy food and beverage.

The lawmakers said Nickelodeon could help address the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic by barring the advertisement of junk food. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Nickelodeon President Cyma Zarghami and its parent company, Viacom. “As a leading multi-media entertainment destination for children and adolescents, Nickelodeon has a special opportunity — and responsibility — to help address our nation’s childhood obesity epidemic,” the senators wrote. “We ask that you implement a clear policy to guide the marketing of food to children on Nickelodeon’s various media platforms.” The senators cited a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that said childhood obesity has doubled among children and tripled among adolescents in the last 30 years. They said Nickelodeon could help the federal government save more than $140 billion in healthcare spending related to childhood obesity by taking similar action that the Walt Disney Corp. did last year.