Childhood obesity is a growing health concern with the National Conference of State Legislatures (2014) estimating that 31.7% of children and adolescents are either obese or overweight. Consequently, such a health concern has an impact on nursing. This is especially the case considering that obesity is associated with the patient being at a high risk of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and liver complications (Joshi, 2015). It is therefore important that policy imperatives be developed to tackle the problem. Some of primary areas of concern for a policy touching on childhood obesity include school nutrition, insurance coverage for affected persons, physical education, as well as advertisements for unhealthy food products. Presently, there is no harmonized national policy that deals with childhood obesity in the country. Most of the efforts undertaken are primarily led by local governments (Joshi, 2015). For the problem to be effectively addressed, it is necessary to have a national policy.
In the case of childhood obesity, it is necessary that the policy to be developed be focused on dealing with the problem from the root cause. It is for this reason that the proposed policy is aimed at curbing inappropriate advertising and promotion of unhealthy food products thought to result in obesity. Special considerations will be given towards banning of advertisements for nutrient-poor, energy-dense beverages and foods on the television during hours in which children are likely to be watching television. This is especially the case considering that Dietz, Benken, & Hunter (2009) argue that calorie-dense foods of low nutritional value and the reduction of daily physical activity are the primary causes of childhood obesity. From the foregoing, it is evident that a whole new set of national legislation is required to address the problem.
A new law addressing the advertising and promotion of unhealthy food products will serve to consolidate and leverage on the various fragments of policy and regulations passed by various state and local governments. As mentioned earlier, there have been attempts by state and local governments to pass laws aimed at addressing the problem of childhood obesity. Such laws include the taxation of calorie-dense foods that are of low nutritional value as well as mandating schools to offer healthier meals to their students.
In this regard, the existing laws and regulations across numerous state and local governments (though fragmented), will serve to boost the efforts of the nursing fraternity to pass the new law. It is especially the case considering that there is a widening acceptance of the problem hence an appreciation that there needs to be lifestyle changes aimed at addressing the problem. Other existing laws that may serve to prop up the position of the proposed new laws include the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (Congress.gov, 2016). As a result, it is evident that the present regulatory regime while fragmented and not comprehensive serves to provide a platform for the proposed new law.
The ineffectiveness of the current legal regime has been as a result of it being reactive rather than proactive in addressing the issue of childhood obesity. It is for this reason that the policy imperative being addressed in this paper (advertisements for unhealthy food and beverage products) requires a new law.
It would be expected that the lack of a comprehensive national law to address advertising and promotion for unhealthy food products would make the process of legislating a new law easier. However, this will not be the case. According to Milstead (2012), the passage of a law is not a straight forward process as it involves input not only from the legislators but also from other stakeholders in the industry. Milstead (2012) holds that interest groups also play a central role in the legislative process and as a result it is necessary to ensure that the nursing fraternity is well organized in order to ensure that a national law addressing the problem is passed.
Passing the new law especially in regard with interest groups is expected to be a primary challenge. It is because the law targets advertising for calorie-dense foods and beverages that are of low nutritional value. However, companies involved in the production of these targeted products tend to be not only large but having very well organized interest groups that have extensive influence on the legislative process. The influence of these interest groups representing the targeted food and beverage companies is as a result of the large financial resources that such companies have. According to Feldkamp (2013), the level of an interest group’s influence is dependent on its financial resources.
The interest group’s ultimate means of peddling influence across the legislative process is through the use of lobbyists. In this regard, the existing laws that legalize and regulate lobbying may also serve as a hindrance to passage of the laws. It is especially the case considering that anti-obesity interest groups (which are likely to support the initiatives of the nursing organizations) may not be as well funded.
There will therefore be need to adopt creative approaches and numerous approaches in order to convince legislators to pass a law restricting the advertising of calorie-dense foods and beverages that are of low nutritional value especially during times when children are more likely to be watching television or using other media channels. The actions to be taken will be in line with ‘three legs in lobbying’ approach. It is due to the fact that the success rate of legislation is often high when all the “three legs’ are well leveraged.
With regard to the first leg, legislative advocacy, it is important that the nursing fraternity takes part in direct advocacy (U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2016). It will involve having a one on one session with legislators in order to make them have a grasp of the primary concerns. According to Milstead (2012), in order to maximize the effectiveness of this leg, it will be necessary to forge personal relationships with the legislators or individuals close to them such as their staffers or committee staffers. It is especially the case with the staffers who often times are involved in passing on details to the legislators.
The second leg is with regard to the media. It will be necessary for the nursing fraternity to make use of popular media to highlight the problem. It may include canvassing children suffering from obesity and highlighting their plight in popular media so as to draw attention to the issue. Ensuring that the media understands the grim statistics with regard to childhood obesity is important in the campaign.
The use of social media has also emerged as a powerful tool in the recent past in influencing key public debates. In this regard, it is important that nurses make use of it which may involve making payments to social media influencers in order to give the debate national priority during the course of passing the law.
The grassroots leg involves lobbying within the community. The nursing fraternity can achieve this through joining hands with other community organizations that are concerned with the problem of childhood obesity. The nursing fraternity has a particularly good opportunity to whip up grassroots advocacy due to the personal touch nurses have with family and friends of obese children.
While it is important that the three legs of advocacy be used in the process, it is by no means a guarantee of process’ success. It is especially the case considering the lobbying power of the targeted food and beverage companies through their interest groups. However, such can be overcome by having building up a strong campaign from the grassroots and use of media outlets such as social media that cannot be easily compromised.
References
Congress.gov (2016). H.R.3562 - Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990. Congress.gov
Retrieved January 2, 2017 from
https://www.congress.gov/bill/101st-congress/house-
bill/3562
Dietz, W., Benken, D., & Hunter, A (2009). Public Health Law and the Prevention and Control
of Obesity. The Milbank quarterly 87(1): 215–227 Retrieved January 2, 2017 from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879170/
Joshi, S (2015). Reducing Childhood Obesity in America through National Legislation.
Undergraduate research posters 206 Retrieved January 2, 2017 from
http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1216&context=uresposters
Milstead, J (2012). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse's Guide. Burlington, MA; Jones &
Bartlett Learning
National Conference of State Legislatures (2014). Childhood Obesity Legislation - 2013 Update
of Policy Options. Ncsl.org Retrieved January 2, 2017 from
www.ncsl.org/research/health/childhood-obesity-legislation-2013.aspx
U.S Chamber of Commerce Foundation (2016). Advocacy: Three Elements of an Effective
Program. Uschamber.com January 2, 2017 from
http://institute.uschamber.com/advocacy-three-elements-of-an-effective-program/
