Food and beverage marketing targeted to children age 12 and under leads them to request and consume high-calorie, low-nutrient products, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, writes MediaBuyerPlanner. The committee found strong evidence that TV advertising influences the food and beverage preferences and purchase requests of children age 2-11 and affects their consumption habits.

The committee called on the government to enhance nutritional standards, incentives, and public policies to promote the marketing of healthier foods and beverages.

AdAge reports that the study could become a watershed on the scale of the 1964 Surgeon General's report on tobacco.

Marketing and food industry executives contend that the report fails to take into account recent changes in food marketing, that it is based on no new research, and it doesn't explain how food marketing can be a culprit in childhood obesity even as food ads aimed at children are declining while obesity rates among children continues to rise.

The report said although available studies are too limited to determine whether television advertising is a direct cause of obesity among children, the statistical association between ad viewing and obesity is strong.

The report recommends that food, beverage and restaurant companies, as well as the entertainment and marketing industries, expand, strengthen and enforce their standards for marketing practices. For example, the report says that licensed characters, such as popular cartoon characters, should be used only to promote products that support healthful diets.

The report also recommends that media and entertainment industries incorporate storylines that promote healthful eating into programs, films and games, and that the government consider the use of awards and tax incentives that encourage companies to develop and promote healthier food.