Goldberg Addresses Institute Of Medicine Committee On Childhood Nutrition
Goldberg Addresses Institute Of Medicine Committee On Childhood Nutrition
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (April 20, 2005)—Marvin Goldberg, the Irving & Irene Bard Professor of Business Administration and chair of the Department of Marketing at Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, has completed an in-depth report on marketing tactics to address the unhealthy eating habits of children and the growing problem of childhood obesity. He recently presented the major elements of the report to an Institute of Medicine task force.
Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in response to a Congressional directive, the institute has convened an interdisciplinary committee to review the effects of food and beverage marketing on the diets and health of children and youth in the United States. The committee includes experts in a variety of areas including child and adolescent development, psychology and behavioral economics, media and advertising, and public health and policy.
In March, Goldberg addressed the committee in Irvine, Calif., drawing on a report he co-authored with Smeal Ph.D. candidate Kunter Gunasti. Entitled “Creating an Environment in which Children & Youths are Encouraged to Eat a Healthier Diet,” the report covers a broad range of topics, from the lack of effectiveness of education and social marketing at influencing the behaviors of children, to evidence of advertising’s effects on youths.
“No matter where they turn, children are inundated with messages about what to eat and drink on a daily basis,” Goldberg said. “Many of these messages encourage unhealthy habits and are contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. We need to balance these unhealthy messages with messages for healthier food. Encouraging companies to do this is critical, because without industry cooperation there’s no turning the problem around.”
Goldberg was asked to participate because of his extensive research on the linkages between snack and breakfast food advertising and children's food preferences. He also has expertise in social marketing and tobacco and alcohol advertising, and has served as consultant to a broad array of public and private organizations.
Goldberg’s research has been published in numerous scholarly journals including the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Consumer Psychology, the Journal of Marketing Research, and the Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.
The Institute of Medicine is part of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Research Council. The committee will eventually prepare a report outlining the state of food and beverage marketing to children and the state of understanding about the impact of this exposure of their diets and health. The report will also identify strategies and offer recommendations to foster healthy food and beverage choices among children.
REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
