Policy group proposes junk food ad ban to tackle childhood obesity
A policy group backed by the World Health Organisation and Diabetes Australia has called for restrictions to be placed on unhealthy foods advertising, which it claims is a cause of childhood obesity.
The group, called the Obesity Policy Coalition, also slammed self-regulation for being “utterly ineffective” in protecting children from junk food advertising.
An ‘evidence-based blueprint’ has been sent to state and federal governments, pushing for new rules to be imposed on TV ads during peak children’s viewing times and the introduction of key marketing definitions, such as ‘unhealthy food’ and advertising ‘directed to children’.
The new rules would, if approved, see junk food advertising banned on TV on weekdays between 6-9am and 4-9pm and weekends and school holidays from 6am-12pm and 4-9pm.
The blueprint is backed with research from OPC that found that 84% of consumers believe children “should be protected from unhealthy food advertising.” It also found that nine in 10 were in favour of the government introducing stronger restrictions to reduce the amount of unhealthy food and drink advertising seen by children.
Jane Martin, senior policy advisor for OPC, said that the self regulation system now in place “allows junk food companies to advertise during the highest rating children’s TV programs. It also permits them to use websites and Facebook, freetoys, competitions and sports sponsorship as marketing tools to reach kids, as well as obtaining children’s contact details and marketing directly to them via email, SMS or mail.”
She added that Australian consumers have had enough of junk food companies marketing unhealthy food to children. “New Cancer Council research released today found nearly 60% of grocery buyers nominated TV advertising or toy giveaways as having the biggest impact on their children asking for an unhealthy food product.”
Boyd Swinburn, director of the World Health Organisation’s collaborating centre for obesity prevention of Deakin University, said that it had been a year since self regulation codes on reducing junk foods ads had been introduced, but they had not worked. “The codes were too narrow in their definition of what is junk food and what is a child,” he said.
The group used codes drawn up in the UK to help it come up with new definitions for Australian marketers. In the UK, restrictions on sugary and salty foods advertising have led to a 30% reduction in the exposure of children to junk food advertising, noted Swinburn, although he admitted that a direct link between junk food ads and obesity has yet to be made.
Daniel Leesong, CEO of the Communications Council, complained that the OPC had drawn up legislation proposals without consultation with the industry. “Sweeping regulation suggestions of this kind shouldn’t be made without first engaging with us. From our perspective, we wouldn’t support restrictions like these without more thorough consultation and without evidence that restrictions actually work.”
Leesong pointed to cases of where junk food ad bans have been ineffective in reducing obesity, such as Sweden and Quebec. He added: “Obesity is an issue that the advertisers and agencies take very seriously,” he said. “Menu adaptations made by fast food companies as well as tweaks to marketing practices reflect that.”
Speaking on behalf of advertisers, Joe Talcott, marketing director of News Limited, head of the Australia Association of National Advertisers and a former McDonald’s marketer, said that self regulation does work, and is a quicker, more efficient way for the industry to tackle key issues such as health. “The system in place gives the public the chance to complain about things it feels aren’t right. And the evidence is that they’re pretty happy with the way things are.”
In a 44-page advertising legislation blueprint, the OPC authors claim that children do not have the cognitive capacity to understand and resist the influence of advertising, and that their proposal offered an “effective, fair and proportionate strategy” for reducing childrens’ exposure to junk food ads.
The report, which took over a year to produce, has been published in the wake of controversial fast food marketing promotions to adults such as KFC’s The Double, a bunless chicken burger, and Mad Mex’s launch of a burrito weighing 1kg.
On such promotions, Swinburn said that they are orchestrated “by smart people who wouldn’t spend this amount of money if they didn’t get a return on their investment. It doesn’t take much to join the dots.”
Gotta love this “…without evidence that restrictions actually work” – if it doesn’t work then advertisers have nothing to worry about!
“The system in place gives the public the chance to complain about things it feels aren’t right. And the evidence is that they’re pretty happy with the way things are.” This is not true either – look at the number of complaints that are either dismissed or not even considered. I’d say all this demonstrates is an ineffective system!
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Even more talk about fast food advertising causing obesity in chldren! My 7 year old daughter wants almost every thing that she sees advertised on television, whether it’s toys, the latest movie release or fast food (in that order).
IMHO the cause of childhood obesity is due to parent’s inability to say no and be good role models for their kids. I think it’s time they stopped laying the blame on advertisers.
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If they REALLY wanted to make an impact on childhood obesity … get kids off their Xboxes, and computers. Kids TV viewing has remained static over the years while the BMI has risen – a negative correlation. Meanwhile, time spent gaming and online has risen sharply, largely at the expense of outdoor activities. It’s pretty obvious even to Blind Freddy what’s going on.
So come on OPC, if you are serious rather than populist, make the call to ban games and internet use for kids under 12. It’s not as popular as a call to ban advertising is it. [Just a thought starter – when WAS the last cigarette ad YOU saw (banned in 1992 – excluding existing sponsorships – so you’d have to be over 20 to remember them).]
So I call on the OPC to release their policy on computer, console and internet usage for kids so that they can at least have a holistic and balanceed approach.
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Here we go again.
Misleading research, junk science, a frank admission from the WHO director of no causal linkage, yet still this keeps coming up.
The plan in the UK was deeply flawed and by the same logic, Australia should provide universal healthcare, join the EU, retain Pounds Sterling, etc.
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Stu, I’d suggest that based on the 2009 complaints data, with 3,796 complaints (less then .02% of the Australian population), and of which 25% were outside the charter, 1% were withdrawn, 25% were upheld, and 60% were dismissed, that we’re catering extremely well for the vocal minority. And the fact that every fourth ad complained about was upheld shows that the ASB is not scared to pull ads that overstep the line.
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When I was 10 (a long time ago) there was one McDonalds in a 10Km radius from home..and the local Westfield had a cafe or two, mostly populated by old ladies eating sandwiches with elegant salads complete with a slice of orange. Move forward 20+ years and Food courts are the norm with all manner of good and bad fare available. increased distribution and a huge shift in attitude to eating whatever and whenever (all the time) is the real culprit…advertising a mere scapegoat.
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Comment 6 is on the money.
The restrictive legislation will come anyway…
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I agree with this…”The restrictive legislation will come anyway…” we will just wait and see.
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They’re not advertising towards children. They’re advertising toward shitty adults.
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I’m not a big fan of government or institutions meddling with businesses. Do I like junk food? No, it’s not healthy.
Guess what though? It’s the parents responsibility to feed their kids healthy foods and participate in fun family fitness.
Parents are looked up to by their kids and most of the time will eat what their parents eat. Let’s make vegetables and fruits the norm and not junk food.
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