US agencies want to ban some kid food ads

In a bid to tackle rising youth obesity, US companies would be prohibited from advertising to children foods that contain large amounts of sugar or salt, or even low levels of trans fats, under a proposal released on Tuesday by a working group from several US agencies. The working group made up of members of the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Agriculture and Centers for Disease Control issued what it called tentative proposed standards for food marketed to children, defined as up to age 17. Those foods could not have more than 1 gram of saturated fat per serving, 13 grams of added sugar, 200 milligrams of sodium or 0 trans fats, which they defined as more than half a gram, per normal serving. At a related conference to discuss food advertising and any link it might have to obesity among children, Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, said that if the obesity-related health risks -- high blood pressure and diabetes among them -- were caused by radiation "alarm bells would be going off across America. There would be a huge outcry."