Los Angeles: Walt Disney has instituted a junk-food advertising ban on their programmes for kids in an attempt to encourage healthy eating habits among children.
Disney will become the first major media company to ban junk-food advertising on its TV, radio and online programmes that target children, reported The Los Angeles Times.
The guidelines won’t go into effect until 2015 because of existing advertising agreements. Disney is also launching its own “Mickey Check” label for food it deems to be nutritious to help promote certain healthier foods in grocery stores and other retailers.
“We have taken steps across our company to support better choices for families. And now, we are taking the next important step forward by setting new food advertising standards for kids,” Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Iger said in a statement.
The move follows the announcement last week of a plan by New York City to ban the sale of large sodas and other sugary drinks amid increasing concern about childhood obesity in America.
Nearly one-third of US children are overweight or obese, and research shows youth are increasingly being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases related to obesity that were once thought of as only adult conditions. (PTI)
