**Protecting children from unhealthy food advertising**

"Children should be encouraged to eat fewer high fat snacks such as
crisps and biscuits

and to avoid consuming a large proportion of total energy from sweetened
drinks."

Childhood obesity: time for action, not complacency, Editorial in the
British Medical Journal, February 2000, vol. 320, p.328.

## Children's diet and health

The Government's 2000 National Diet and Nutrition Survey confirms the
poor state of children's diets. British children eat less than half the
recommended portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and the vast
majority have intakes of saturated fat, sugar and salt which exceed the
maximum adult recommendations.[^1]

Population estimates indicate that 9% of boys and 13.5% of girls in
England are overweight and the corresponding figures for Scotland are
even higher (10% for boys and 15.8% for girls).[^2] The rate of increase
in the proportion of overweight children is alarming and childhood
levels of obesity in the UK have been described as 'epidemic'.[^3]
Between 1984 and 1994, the prevalence of obesity in English primary
school children increased by 140%.Error: Reference source not found
Eating diets high in energy-dense fat is a major contributory factor in
the rising trend in overweight and obese children.

More than half of 4 to 18 year olds have some dental decay, largely
caused by frequent consumption of sugar-laden products.Error: Reference
source not found Recent research has also identified links between the
consumption of sugar sweetened drinks and obesity,[^4] and between low
fruit and vegetable consumption and asthma.[^5] In the longer term, a
diet high in fatty, sugary and/or salty foods increases the risk of
developing coronary heart disease, some cancers, hypertension, diabetes
and numerous other health disorders.

-   **Advertising targeted at children**

It is estimated that the food industry spent in excess of £0.3 billion
in 1999 promoting unhealthy food products.[^6] These are processed foods
which contain high levels of fat and/or sugar and/or salt and include
confectionery, crisps and savoury snacks, soft drinks and other
so-called 'fast' or pre-prepared 'convenience' foods. Children are
persistently exposed to commercial messages promoting these foods: on
television and radio, on the internet, at the cinema, in comics and
magazines, on packaging, and even at school.

In July 2001 Sustain published *TV Dinners*, a report which examines the
nature and extent of food advertising during children's TV
programmes.[^7] The study shows that between 95% and 99% of the food
advertising during children's programming is for fatty and/or sugary
and/or salty foods. Fatty and sugary foods are advertised in proportions
up to 11 times higher than that recommended in official dietary
guidelines, whilst fruit and vegetables are usually not advertised at
all. In addition, adverts for unhealthy foods are shown with much
greater frequency during children's television compared with adult
viewing periods.

Sustain believes that the effect of this imbalance in advertising is to
reinforce children's consumption of less healthy foods and undermine the
efforts of parents and health professionals to encourage healthier
patterns of eating. In the context of scientific evidence that diets
high in fats (especially saturated fats), sugar and salt have a
detrimental effect on children's current and future health, this
selective targeting of children by food advertisers is unjustifiable.

-   **The need for more protection**

Television content analyses undertaken by Leeds University have shown
that child-orientated adverts are more frequently repeated and are more
likely to use animation, pace and central characters, magic and fantasy,
together with a wide range of emotional appeals (fun, action, adventure
and achievement). The researchers conclude that children's television
adverts are designed in a manner to engage attention and emotional
response.[^8]

Reviews of related research confirm that young children, especially, do
not grasp the motives behind advertising or realise that the products
advertised may not be good for their immediate or long-term health.[^9]
Advertising is often viewed as either entertainment or as a source of
reliable information, or both.[^10] Even when children develop a better
understanding of its purpose, they remain very vulnerable to peer
pressure, upon which advertising feeds.

These findings are not new. Indeed, in response to concerns expressed
over a number of years, advertising codes of practice acknowledge that
children deserve special protection, including from inducements to eat
unhealthy diets. Why, then, does there continue to be a very high volume
of advertising for fatty and/or sugary and/or salty foods, targeted
specifically at children?

First, the codes apply only to individual adverts, and not to the
cumulative effect of advertising and marketing as a whole. Second, the
codes are voluntary, and call only for restraint, not full protection.
So far, only the Co-op has agreed, voluntarily, not to promote fatty
and/or sugary and/or salty foods to children at all.[^11]

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| -   **Policy statement**                                              |
|                                                                       |
| **We call upon the UK Government to introduce legislation which       |
| protects children from the advertising and promotion of foods that    |
| contribute to an unhealthy diet. These include confectionery, crisps, |
| savoury snacks, soft drinks and other processed products containing   |
| high levels of fat and/or sugar and/or salt, excessive consumption of |
| which is known to be detrimental to children's health. Voluntary      |
| approaches are not working, so statutory controls are needed to end   |
| commercial activities which promote these foods specifically to       |
| children, irrespective of the method used.**                          |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

We fully acknowledge that advertising is not the only influence on
children's diets and, thereby, their health. Family and friends,
teachers and other professionals, government and private sector policies
all have their role to play. However, advertising also affects all of
these influences, as well as appealing directly to children, and it is
designed to be powerfully persuasive. Sustain believes that children
have a right to grow up free from commercial pressures to buy -- or
pester their families to buy -- fatty and/or sugary and/or salty foods
that put their current and future health at risk.

References supporting the statements made in this document are listed at
www.sustainweb.org/adcampaign

References

[^1]: Food Standards Agency, (June 2000), The National Diet and
    Nutrition Survey of Young People aged 4 to 18 years, HMSO, London.

[^2]: Chinn S. & Rona R., (2001), Prevalence and trends in overweight
    and obesity in three cross sectional studies of British children,
    1974-94, British Medical Journal, 322, 24-26.

[^3]:

[^4]: Obesity and sugar sweetened drinks

[^5]: asthma and f+g consumption

    Also see:

    Figueroa-Munoz J., Chinn S. & Rona R., (2001), Association between
    obesity and asthma in 4-11 year old children in the UK, Thorax, 56,
    2, 133-37.

    And

    Gillman M., (1996), Enjoy your fruit and vegetables, British Medical
    Journal, 313, 756-66.

[^6]: Estimate of adspend

[^7]: Sustain, (2001), TV Dinners -- What's being served up by the
    advertisers?, Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming,
    London.

[^8]: Lewis M. & Hill A., (1998), Food advertising on British children's
    television: a content analysis and experimental study with nine-year
    olds, International Journal of Obesity, 22, 206-14.

[^9]: Bjurnstrom E., (1994), Children and Television Advertising: a
    critical study of international research concerning the effects of
    TV commercials on children, The National Swedish Board for Consumer
    Policy.

    And

    Jarlbro G., (2001), Children and television advertising -- the
    players, the arguments and the research during 1994-2000, Swedish
    Consumer Agency.

[^10]: Young B., (1998), Emulation, Fears and Understanding: A review of
    recent research on children and television advertising, ITC, London.

[^11]: Co-operative Wholesale Society Ltd., (2000), Blackmail -- The
    first in a series of inquiries into consumer concerns about the
    ethics of modern food production and advertising, CWS Ltd.,
    Manchester.

    **Protecting children from unhealthy food advertising**

    #### FAX BACK FORM

    We call upon the UK Government to introduce legislation which
    protects children from the advertising and promotion of foods that
    contribute to an unhealthy diet. These include confectionery,
    crisps, savoury snacks, soft drinks and other processed products
    containing high levels of fat and/or sugar and/or salt, excessive
    consumption of which is known to be detrimental to children's
    health. Voluntary approaches are not working, so statutory controls
    are needed to end commercial activities which promote these foods
    specifically to children, irrespective of the method used.

    My organisation is happy to support the principle of this policy
    statement.

    We are considering whether we can support the recommendation.

    We hope to let you know by:

    (please insert date)

    Name of
    organisation:......................................................................................................

    Address:.........................................................................................................................

    Phone:.......................................................E-mail:.......................................................

    Signature:...................................................Date:.........................................................

    Print name:.................................................Job
    Title:....................................................

    We are able to distribute campaign literature on behalf of Sustain.

    We have a magazine in which we can include an article supplied by
    Sustain.

    We can put a link from our website to the campaign website.

    We would consider funding the campaign.

    (If you tick this box, we will contact you with further details of
    ways in which organisations can

    contribute financially -- large and small donations are most
    welcome - every little helps!)

    Please return this form to:

    Charlie Powell at Sustain

    Fax: 020 7837 1141

    *E-mail: <adcampaign@sustainweb.org>*