A new study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research and funded by the National Institutes of Health found that if fast-food advertising to children were cut the national obesity rate would drop by as much as 18%, Advertising Age reports. “We have known for some time that childhood obesity has gripped our culture, but little empirical research has been done that identifies television advertising as a possible cause,” said one of the study’s authors, Shin-Yi Chou. “Hopefully, this line of research can lead to a serious discussion about the type of policies that can curb America’s obesity epidemic.”
—Christopher Perez