Mom of Two Petitions Nickelodeon to End Junk Food Ads on Kids' Shows

Any mom who has cringed when junk food ads targeted to kids interrupt her child's programming will empathize with Reasa Currier, a mom of two from Alexandria, VA, who started an online petition at Change.org two weeks ago, asking Nickelodeon to disallow junk food advertisers.

Currier, 32, was inspired by Disney's announcement on June 5 that it will stop accepting some junk food advertisements on children's TV programs, websites and radio shows. "I saw the Disney announcement and I thought it was amazing. What a positive step in the right direction!" she told Yahoo! Shine.

Disney's initiative requires products advertised on its shows to meet the company's nutrition guidelines established in 2006, which are aligned with federal standards and promote the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables while limiting sugars, salts and fats. That means Disney will phase out sugar cereals, candy and soda advertising by 2015.

Currier's petition presents the facts on childhood obesity: "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years and the percentage of children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. The children in that age demographic are precisely who are being targeted with these ads.
Food and beverage advertisers are spending between $10 and $15 billion dollars a year advertising to our children. They do this because it works: the more junk food is marketed to children, the more junk food children eat."

She chose Nickelodeon because, she says, "I grew up on Nickelodeon and I want my children to watch it but I have reservations about exposing them to the ads. They're not advertising food. They're advertising chemicals and preservatives. That's what we're supposed to put in our children's growing bodies?"

So far, she's gathered almost 2,500 signatures.

A Nickelodeon representative did not return Yahoo! Shine calls for comment at press time.