Food promotion to children

In the course of policy analysis and development spanning a number of years. [1, 2] the National Heart Forum has consistently identified food marketing to children as a fundamental issue contributing to the problems of poor diet among the young: in particular a high consumption of energy-dense foods high in salt, fat and sugar and a low consumption of fruit and vegetables. One of the health consequences of an energy dense diet (combined with inadequate levels of physical activity) is weight gain leading to obesity

Normalisation of snack foods

One worrying phenomenon could be described as the 'normalisation' of snack and occasional foods into the mainstream diet of children. Sales data analysis by investment analysts JP Morgan shows that snack consumption has risen 240% in the past 20 years. [3] Dietary surveys suggest that too much of what children eat is snack food or confectionery, displacing other more nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables. [4] As a result, there is an unhealthy distortion in the overall balance of food consumed.

Targetting children

Recent years have seen numerous food products come onto the market which are specifically targeted at children. These are usually heavily marketed using a variety of techniques known that appeal to the young, such as advertising and packaging using:

Cartoon characters, sports personalities or pop stars
Child-related appeals to play, fun, action-adventure, humour, magic or fantasy

The heavily-marketed food products which are the focus for concern are:

Confectionery
Soft drinks
Fast foods
High fat/salt snacks and crisps
Sweetened breakfast cereals
Meals served in fast-food restaurants

Growing investment in advertising and marketing snacks, sweets and soft drinks directly to children involves the exploitation of new media and new technologies and the penetration of new markets, including schools.

The evidence base

In September 2003, the Food Standards Agency published the findings of a specially commissioned systematic review of the evidence on the effects of food promotion to children.[5] The key findings are:

Extent and nature of food promotion to children:
Food dominates advertising to children
The principle medium for this is television
Five product categories dominate: soft drinks, sweetened cereals, confectionery, snacks and fast food restaurant
The advertised diet contrasts strongly with the recommended diet.

The effect of food promotion:

There is modest evidence that food promotion influences children's nutritional knowledge
There is reasonably strong evidence that food promotion influences children's food preferences
There is strong evidence that food promotion influences children's purchasing and purchase-related behaviour (such as pestering)
There is modest evidence that food promotion influences children's consumption
There is modest evidence that food promotion influences children's diet and health-status
There is evidence that food promotion influences children independently of other factors such as parents' behaviour or price
The effects of food promotion are not limited to brand-switching, but affect category preferences as well.

Since the studies in the review were conducted, marketing spend on promotions to children has increased and spread across new media, including the internet. Given this increase, and the fact that the review looked almost exclusively at studies of TV advertising, the review can be assumed to understate the total impact of all forms of marketing on children's eating habits.

> Food promotion to children
> The need for controls on food promotion to children
> Food promotion in schools
> Support for controls on food marketing to children

Page 1 of 4 | Next