How top sports leagues promote unhealthy eating behaviour
New York: Top sports leagues may be contributing to the escalating obesity epidemic among children and adolescents as the majority of food and beverages marketed through sponsorship of these events are unhealthy, says a US-based study.
"Unhealthy food and beverage promotion through organised sports is pervasive," said the study's lead investigator Marie Bragg, Assistant Professor at New York University School of Medicine.
"These organisations must put forth a better effort to protect their youngest and most impressionable fans," she added.
For the study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers analysed Nielsen statistics of televised sports programmes among children 2-17 years of age.
The study found that, among the 10 most watched sports organisations, most of the food products were rated "unhealthy" under the guidelines of the Nutrient Profile Model, a profiling system that identifies nutritious value in Britain and Australia.
The US does not have a comparable measurement system.
The researchers examined sports sponsorship agreements covering 2006-2016 between food and beverage manufacturers and the 10 sports organisations with the most youth viewers.
These organisations were -- the National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Hockey League (NHL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-even Little League Baseball and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
"The US is in the throes of a child and adolescent obesity epidemic, and these findings suggest that sports organisations and many of their sponsors are contributing, directly and indirectly, to it," Bragg said.
"Sports organisations need to develop more health-conscious marketing strategies that are aligned with recommendations from national medical associations," she added.
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Congress has no future: BJP on Chidambaram's remark on INDIA alliance
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Friday took a swipe at the Congress over its leader P Chidambaram's remark on the opposition INDIA alliance, saying even Rahul Gandhi's "close aide" know that the party has no future.
Chidambaram had on Thursday voiced concerns over the INDIA bloc, saying he was not sure if the opposition alliance was still intact.
Latching on to Chidambaram's remarks, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X, "Congress Leader P Chidambaram predicts: 'Opposition will not be intact in future, BJP is a formidable organisation'."
"Even Rahul Gandhi's close aides know Congress has no future," he added.
Speaking at the launch of Salman Khurshid and Mritunjay Singh Yadav's book "Contesting Democratic Deficit", Chidambaram said, "The future (of INDIA bloc) is not so bright, as Mritunjay Singh Yadav said. He seems to feel that the alliance is still intact, but I am not sure".
"It is only Salman (Khurshid) who can answer because he was part of the negotiating team for the INDIA bloc. If the alliance is totally intact, I will be very happy. But it shows at the seams that it is frayed," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
He also hoped that the alliance can "still be put together, there's still time".
The former Union finance minister warned that the INDIA bloc was fighting against a "formidable machinery", which must be fought on all fronts.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties came together ahead of the last Lok Sabha elections to counter the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre.
