US food education a failure

The U.S. government's nutrition education program of more than $1 billion is failing, a survey by the Associated Press reveals.

The money spent on videos of dancing fruits and vegetables, Web site emphasis on snacking on carrots and celery, and repeated instruction on how eating well makes a person feel good are all coming to naught, the wire service says.

The AP reviewed 57 scientific studies that looked at the effectiveness of the federal program and found that only four showed any measurable success in changing the way children ate.

Here are the major obstacles that come into play, the wire service reports:

Parents. If parents don't practice proper nutrition, most times their children won't, either.

Poverty. Less healthful food -- especially fast food -- is cheaper and more often eaten by poor children, the researchers found.

Advertising. Not one of the almost 9,000 television ads for food products aimed at children between ages 8 and 12 in the study promoted fruits or vegetables. – (HealtahDay)

July 2007