DeLauro: Need to Reconsider How We Market Foods

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT) released the following statement on a new Institute of Medicine Report outlining the economic cost of the obesity epidemic and how the country should respond:

"We know the obesity epidemic is real and has real costs for our nation, both for our health and economy. Earlier this week the CDC estimated 42 percent of Americans will be considered obese by 2030. However, it is not an insurmountable problem. Without immediate action, obesity will continue to cost billions of dollars each year and damage our country's public health. The IOM report lays out several strategies that we must consider. It is a call to action that we should heed.

"Chief among these is how we market food. We need to implement comprehensive laws on menu labels as Congress intended, including restaurants, stores and movie theaters, so that people get the full story on what they are consuming. The FDA should also move swiftly to ensure labels on the front of packages are transparent and not misleading. But that cannot be the whole story. This problem requires a multi-faceted approach to food marketing, particularly marketing aimed at children. We must act now to ensure this next generation is not the first to suffer from a lower quality of life than their parents."

DeLauro is a longtime supporter of transparency as a way to combat obesity. In the past three Congresses, she introduced the MEAL (Menu Education and Labeling) Act. The bulk of the MEAL Act, which requires restaurants and similar establishments to provide nutritional information on their menus, was included in the Affordable Care and Prevention Act.