A reported published by the UK’s Food Standards Agency has concluded that food advertising to children focuses on unhealthy products and does have an effect on their preferences, purchase behaviour and consumption.
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The Food Standards Agency commissioned a comprehensive review of research examining the way foods are promoted to children and the possible link between promotional activity and children’s eating patterns.
The review, which was produced for the FSA by Professor Gerard Hastings and his team at the University of Strathclyde Centre for Social Marketing, found that children’s food promotion is dominated by television advertising, which the majority of these adverts promoting pre-sugared breakfast cereals, soft drinks, confectionery, savoury snacks and fastfood outlets.
The researchers found that the advertised diet contrasted sharply with that recommended by public health advisors, and themes of fun and fantasy or taste, rather than health and nutrition, were used to promote it to children. Meanwhile, the recommended diet receives little promotional support.
The review concluded that there is a lot of food advertising to children and that the advertised diet is less healthy than the recommended one. It also found that children enjoy and engage with food promotion, which is having an effect, particularly on children’s preferences, purchase behaviour and consumption. The report said this effect is independent of other factors and operates at both a brand and category level.
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By GlobalDataFollowing the publication of the review, the FSA said it intends to draw on the conclusions of the report to inform and promote open public debate on the issue.
The Food Commission said it welcomed the report, but called for more action to improve children’s diets.
“This report is a call to action,” said Kath Dalmeny, Policy Officer for the Food Commission. “Children are already eating too much fat, sugar and salt, yet we allow them to be systematically targeted with advertising for unhealthy foods. The Food Standards Agency’s review provides the evidence of what parents have known all along – advertising encourages children to choose unhealthy foods and to pester their parents for them.”
“Food companies are experts at selling junk food and soft drinks to children using advertising, packaging and free gifts, but the one thing that repeatedly gets left out is good nutrition. It’s time that food producers and advertisers used their expertise to sell healthier foods to children,” added Annie Seeley, nutritionist and coordinator of the Food Commission’s Parents Jury.
