Television can teach positive as well as negative lessons, said Neal Baer, M.D., an executive producer who has worked on shows like ER and Law and Order: SVU. Baer cited a recent Health Affairs study of an ER episode about human papilloma virus and cervical cancer. Surveys showed that significantly more viewers knew about the link between HPV and cervical cancer after the episode aired.

“When you translate that to 40 million viewers, you’re really saying something,” Baer said.

Baer suggested that storylines about obesity would be “quite easy” to incorporate into television programs, even in the face of advertising that may tempt viewers to eat more. “Advertising is what is paying for these shows, but we are very independent in terms of what we show,” he said.

Baer said that media messages alone might not change behavior, but could provide some of the health knowledge necessary to make positive changes.

Eric Rosenthal, B.B.A., M.S., a marketing specialist at the firm Frankel, agrees. Rosenthal handles the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s VERB media campaign, designed to encourage physical activity among 9- to 13-year-olds. While media blitzes like the VERB ads rarely receive as much money as their snack food counterparts, money is only part of the challenge, according to Rosenthal.

“You need a motivating reason to get people to change their behavior,” he said. “Demand is the problem, not supply.”

To listen to the Webcast of the IOM Workshop, “The Prevention of Childhood Obesity: Understanding the Influences of Marketing, Media, and Family Dynamics,” go here.