Regulating and Litigating in the Public Interest

The pressure to regulate the marketing of high-energy, nutrient-poor foods to young people has been mounting in light of concern about rising worldwide levels of overweight and obesity. In 2004, the World Health Organization called on governments, industry, and civil society to act to reduce unhealthy marketing messages. Since then, important changes have taken place in the global regulatory environment regarding the marketing of food to young people. Industry has developed self-regulatory approaches, civil society has campaigned for statutory restrictions, and governments have dealt with a range of regulatory proposals. Still, there have been few new regulations that restrict food marketing to young people. Despite calls for evidence-based policy, new regulatory developments appear to have been driven less by evidence than by ethics.