NIH director: Sports leagues should rethink sponsoring unhealthy foods

The director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is calling on major sports leagues to re-examine their sponsorship deals with unhealthy foods, out of fear they are fueling the country’s obesity problem.

Dr. Francis Collins in a blog post pointed to NIH-funded research showing that more than 75 percent of foods promoted by major sports leagues are unhealthy.

{mosads}“If sports organizations have the power to encourage unhealthy eating habits, perhaps more health-conscious marketing strategies by these influential organizations could help tip the balance—and the scale—in a healthier direction,” Collins writes. “We call on them to re-examine their current approach.”

He gives examples of sports leagues helping promote unhealthy foods such as the NFL reaching a deal with Tostitos to produce chip bags featuring football team logos and MLB making Nathan’s the “official hot dog” of the league.

“The confusing messages they send about physical fitness and healthy eating habits can’t be helping our national problem with obesity,” Collins writes.

Collins pointed to survey data showing that more than 18 percent of young people in the United States are obese. For adults, nearly 40 percent were obese in 2015–2016, up from 34 percent in 2007–2008.