Yale study says fast food marketers targeting kids more than ever

A study from Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy &Obesity charges that fast-food companies are marketing to youth now more than ever -- increasingly targeting children as young as 2 years old -- using various media, and rarely offer healthy meal choices, despite the abundance of advertising about them. Rudd Center was expected to announce the findings at a press conference Monday morning.

The report's authors studied marketing efforts of 12 fast-food chains in the U.S. -- including McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Subway and Yum Brands' Pizza Hut and KFC. The study said that the fast-food industry spent more than $4.2 billion on marketing and advertising in 2009, according to Nielsen Co., focusing extensively on TV, the internet, social-media sites and mobile applications.

"Despite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast-food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids,"said Jennifer L. Harris, lead researcher and director-marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center, in a statement. "Today, preschoolers see 21% more fast-food ads on TV than they saw in 2003, and somewhat older children see 34% more."