U.S. Department Of Agriculture Partners With Ad Council An

New PSAs feature characters from Walt Disney's "The Jungle Book"

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Nutrition and Consumer Services and the Ad Council announce today the launch of a multi-media public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to inspire children and families to adopt healthier lifestyles.

As we all know, today's obesity and overweight statistics are staggering. Approximately 66 percent of adult Americans are considered overweight or obese while 17 percent of American children themselves are categorized as overweight. Research indicates that there is a direct correlation between being overweight during childhood and adolescence and carrying that through into adulthood.

Furthermore, recent Ad Council research indicates that mothers and caregivers understand the importance of healthy eating yet struggle with knowing the best way to provide good nutrition for their families. According to a 2007 study conducted by Yankelovich Research among low-income mothers on behalf of the Ad Council's Coalition for Healthy Children, less than half of those surveyed describe their children as physically fit and only 40 percent said their kids are healthy eaters. In addition, 39 percent of low income mothers said they are unclear about which foods are considered healthy and 63 percent report that healthy eating is often a major battle with their child.