Washington ? The nation’s largest food and beverage companies spent about $1.6 billion in 2006 marketing their products – especially carbonated drinks – to children, according to a Federal Trade Commission report.

About a third of that amount was dedicated to promoting carbonated drinks.

The report, to be released today, stems from lawmakers’ concern about growing obesity rates in children. It gives researchers new insight into how much companies are spending to attract youths to their products, and what venues the companies are using for their marketing. To come up with its estimate, the FTC used confidential financial data that it required the companies to turn over.

The commission studied spending directed at children ages 2-17. Spending on soda marketing came to $492 million, with the vast majority of that directed toward adolescents. Restaurants reported spending close to $294 million, which was divided about evenly between children and adolescents. For cereals, companies spent about $237 million with the vast majority of that amount targeted to children under age 12.

The 44 companies reviewed spread their marketing across all segments of the media, the commission found. Television ads provide a theme that usually carried over to packaging and displays in stores, and to the Internet where entry of a code on the package allowed them to participate in games or contests with prizes.