• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, October 17, 2006

Media outlets are under fire for allowing characters, like Nickelodeon's SpongeBob, to promote sugar-heavy foods to kids. In response, Disney announced Monday that it would only license its characters for use in marketing foods with limits on potentially unhealthy ingredients.

Disney said the policy will apply in the U.S. immediately, and will move overseas in the next few years.

The company said it would not permit characters such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh--as well as the Disney brand--to be used for foods that don't meet its standards limiting calories, fat, saturated fat and sugar. For example, foods would be okay if "added sugar will not exceed 10 percent of calories for main dishes and side dishes and 25 percent of calories for snacks."

More broadly, Disney said it would make changes to the contents of food for kids at its parks and resorts.

"Disney will be providing healthier options for families that seek them, whether at our parks or through our broad array of licensed foods," said Disney President-CEO Robert Iger. "The Disney brand and characters are in a unique position to market food that kids will want, and parents will feel good about giving them."

Media companies that run ads for foods with high sugar content, and other potentially unhealthy contents targeted to kids--as well as the marketers who make and plug the products--have come under fire. Congress and public health groups have accused both of contributing to the growing problem of childhood obesity.

Earlier this year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said it would sue both Nickelodeon parent Viacom and Kellogg to get them to halt marketing of "junk food" to children.