Article by Susan Linn
Extracted from the “State of the World 2010” report, published by The Worldwatch Institute and Instituto Akatu.
Marketing is linked to a large number of social and public health issues facing children today.
The World Health Organization and other public health institutions identify marketing to children as a significant factor in the worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity. In addition, advertising and marketing have been linked to eating disorders, sexualization, youth violence, family stress, and underage alcohol and cigarette use.
Among the most disturbing effects of marketing's unfettered access to children is the decline in creative play, which is essential for healthy development. The commercial forces that impede the development of children's natural ability to play are frightening. But there is a booming movement to rescue childhood from the hands of marketers and a resurgence of interest in protecting and promoting practical, unstructured, child-enabled “make-believe”.
Read the full text at this LINK.
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