Breastfeeding Vs. Non-WIC Mothers
United States Government Accountability Office
GAO
R eport to Congressional Addressees
February 2006
BREASTFEEDING
Some Strategies Used to Market Infant
Formula May
Discourage
Breastfeeding; State
Contracts Should
Better Protect against
Misuse of WIC Name
GAO-06-282
Contents
Letter
1
Appendix I
Briefing Slides
Appendix II
Advertising Data
36
Appendix III
Literature Review
37
Appendix IV
Studies in Literature Review
39
6
Abbreviations
CDC
FNS
NIS
USDA
WIC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Nutrition Service
National Immunization Survey
United States Department of Agriculture
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children …show more content…
Some of these marketing efforts use the trademarked
WIC acronym in promotional materials. Although FNS requires states to restrict this practice in their WIC contracts, most states do not.
•
A majority of studies we reviewed that examine giving free formula samples to mothers at hospital discharge found lower breastfeeding rates among both WIC and non-WIC mothers. However, little is known about the impact of most types of marketing.
In order to better protect the WIC acronym and logo from being inappropriately used in infant formula advertisements, we are recommending that the Secretary of Agriculture educate all states about
1
The Senate Committee on Appropriations asked in the 2005 Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations report
(Senate Report 108-340) that we conduct this study.
Page 2
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
FNS’ policy restricting the use of the WIC acronym and logo and ensure that all state formula contracts include provisions restricting the use of these trademarks in infant formula advertisements.
We used the following methodologies to develop our findings. To …show more content…
Department of Agriculture, Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food and Consumer Service, November 1997). Study covered the 48 contiguous states.
Page 24
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides
Formula Marketing: Extent of Marketing Difficult to Quantify; Data Show Mass Media Advertising
Has Increased
• Annual number of TV and print ads in the US increased from about
7,000 in 1999 to over 10,000 in
2004, totaling over 40,000 during this period.
Note: Each time an ad is shown, it is counted. However, it is possible that this is an underestimate of the number of ads shown across the country, because the data only tracks ads shown in major media markets in the
U.S. Data are not available for the number of radio advertisements shown.
For additional information on the advertising data, see appendix II.
Page 25
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides
Formula Marketing: Extent of Marketing Difficult to Quantify; Data Show Mass Media Advertising
Has Increased
• Annual formula company expenditures for TV, print, and radio ads grew from an estimated $29M
GAO
R eport to Congressional Addressees
February 2006
BREASTFEEDING
Some Strategies Used to Market Infant
Formula May
Discourage
Breastfeeding; State
Contracts Should
Better Protect against
Misuse of WIC Name
GAO-06-282
Contents
Letter
1
Appendix I
Briefing Slides
Appendix II
Advertising Data
36
Appendix III
Literature Review
37
Appendix IV
Studies in Literature Review
39
6
Abbreviations
CDC
FNS
NIS
USDA
WIC
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Nutrition Service
National Immunization Survey
United States Department of Agriculture
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,
Infants, and Children …show more content…
Some of these marketing efforts use the trademarked
WIC acronym in promotional materials. Although FNS requires states to restrict this practice in their WIC contracts, most states do not.
•
A majority of studies we reviewed that examine giving free formula samples to mothers at hospital discharge found lower breastfeeding rates among both WIC and non-WIC mothers. However, little is known about the impact of most types of marketing.
In order to better protect the WIC acronym and logo from being inappropriately used in infant formula advertisements, we are recommending that the Secretary of Agriculture educate all states about
1
The Senate Committee on Appropriations asked in the 2005 Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies appropriations report
(Senate Report 108-340) that we conduct this study.
Page 2
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
FNS’ policy restricting the use of the WIC acronym and logo and ensure that all state formula contracts include provisions restricting the use of these trademarks in infant formula advertisements.
We used the following methodologies to develop our findings. To …show more content…
Department of Agriculture, Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food and Consumer Service, November 1997). Study covered the 48 contiguous states.
Page 24
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides
Formula Marketing: Extent of Marketing Difficult to Quantify; Data Show Mass Media Advertising
Has Increased
• Annual number of TV and print ads in the US increased from about
7,000 in 1999 to over 10,000 in
2004, totaling over 40,000 during this period.
Note: Each time an ad is shown, it is counted. However, it is possible that this is an underestimate of the number of ads shown across the country, because the data only tracks ads shown in major media markets in the
U.S. Data are not available for the number of radio advertisements shown.
For additional information on the advertising data, see appendix II.
Page 25
GAO-06-282 Breastfeeding
Appendix I: Briefing Slides
Formula Marketing: Extent of Marketing Difficult to Quantify; Data Show Mass Media Advertising
Has Increased
• Annual formula company expenditures for TV, print, and radio ads grew from an estimated $29M