“GenVeg” is an idea whose time has come.

If like me you are still reeling from this week’s headline that 42% of Americans will be obese by the year 2030, (Finkelstein, Khavjou, Thompson, Trogdon, Pan, Sherry, Dietz, 2012) then you will be glad to hear that companies are starting to step up to help fight this critical battle. Birds Eye has joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), and made a $6 million dollar three-year commitment to ‘GenVeg’, a kid-targeted campaign.

Kids are not the easiest target to address, but with ads running on Nickelodeon’s iCarly featuring “one of America’s most well-known young stars” and a plan to use their input to create new vegetable products it does seem like the company has done its homework and may be successful in convincing kids to eat more veggies.

But, perhaps more important is the fact that they estimate that 1/3 of the ads will reach Women 26-54 with children 6-11, and household incomes of $30,000 or less.  And, a massive coupon program is part of the plan.  (Lukovitz, 2012)

In the long run, convincing the moms may be more important than the kids.  But what happens when the coupons run out?

Eric A. Finkelstein, PhD, MHA, Olga A. Khavjou, MA, Hope Thompson, BA, Justin G. Trogdon, PhD, Liping Pan, MD, MPH, Bettylou Sherry, PhD, RD,William Dietz, MD, PhD. (2012, June 12)  Obesity and Severe Obesity Forecasts Through 2030.  American Journal of Preventative Medicine.  Retrieved may 10, 2012, from

http://www.ajpmonline.org/webfiles/images/journals/amepre/AMEPRE_33853-stamped2.pdf

Lukovitz, K. (2012, May 8)  Birds Eye Commits $6M To Kids’ “GenVeg’ Effort.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved May 9, 2012, from

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/174162/birds-eye-commits-6m-to-kids-genveg-effort.html?edition=46608