American kids are bombarded with ads for junk food that may lure them into dangerous eating habits, a new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) claims. The report, Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?, is the most comprehensive review yet of how marketing influences the food and drink choices children make, the IOM said.

The findings are sobering for any parent trying to teach good eating habits.

The report found that food and beverage companies spend some $10 billion a year marketing products to young people -- and most of those products are high in calories, fat, salt, and added sugar, and low in nutrients. Kids who eat too much of these foods are at risk of obesity and all the long-term problems that may eventually come with it: diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer.

"Current food and beverage marketing practices put kids' long-term health at risk," said J. Michael McGinnis, chair of the committee that prepared the report and a senior scholar at the IOM. "If America's children and youth are to develop eating habits that help them avoid early onset of diet-related chronic disease, they have to reduce their intake of high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks, fast foods, and sweetened drinks."

The report makes several recommendations for changing eating trends among kids. Chief among them: Focus on healthful foods in advertising, promotion, entertainment, and other media.

The panel's research found that television ads strongly influence what kids between the ages of 2 and 11 want to eat. The food and beverage industry should start making and promoting more nutritious products, the report said. Likewise, restaurants should come up with more nutritious menu options for children. And cartoon characters should be used to promote smart diet choices, not junk food.

"We need to harness food marketing practices to encourage healthy and healthful eating patterns for children," said committee member Ellen Wartella, PhD, of the University of California, Riverside. "We believe there are very creative people in the industry who, if they put their minds to it, could both develop healthier products for children -- products that are higher in nutrients, lower in fats and sugars -- and that they could develop messages that would help and encourage children to eat those products."

She and other committee members noted that some restaurants and food and beverage companies have already taken steps to promote healthier fare to young people. But these efforts need to be standardized and developed in conjunction with government and public health groups, the report said.

The committee emphasized that changing marketing practices is important for influencing eating habits among youth, but that's only part of the equation. Other experts agree.

"While there are many things that contribute to the current obesity trends, the solutions to the epidemic are not clear," said Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society. "But what is clear is that it is going to take ongoing, comprehensive action and involvement from all sectors -- government, private industry, non-profits, schools, and parents."

Parents can help their kids make better food choices by keeping healthy foods handy at home, by being good role models and eating healthfully themselves, and by encouraging schools to provide healthier foods, Doyle said.

The report called on the government to develop programs to teach parents how to make better food choices for their children.