The commercial marketing of healthy lifestyles to address the global child and adolescent obesity pandemic: prospects, pitfalls and priorities.
Public- and private-sector initiatives to promote healthy eating and physical activity, called 'healthy lifestyles', are a relatively recent response to the global obesity pandemic. The present paper explores different views about marketing healthy lifestyles with a special emphasis on private-sector initiatives and public-private partnerships designed to reach young people. We discuss aspects of these initiatives and partnerships from three perspectives: (i) the potential for commercial marketing practices to have a favourable influence on reversing global obesity trends (termed prospects); (ii) unresolved dilemmas and challenges that may hinder progress (termed pitfalls); and (iii) the implementation and evaluation of coordinated and systematic actions (termed priorities) that may increase the likelihood that commercially marketed healthy-lifestyle initiatives and public-private partnerships can make a positive contribution to reverse the rise in overweight and obesity among young people globally.
Kraak
Vivica I
VI
US Programs, Save the Children, 2000 L Street NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036, USA. vkraak@savechildren.org
Kumanyika
Shiriki K
SK
Story
Mary
M
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003132:Commerce; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D014943:Global Health; D015438:Health Behavior; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D055818:Public-Private Sector Partnerships; D040241:Social Marketing; D012941:Social Responsibility