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As obesity problems in children grow, there are calls for a ban on advertising unhealthy food to children, writes MICHAEL KELLY .
THE IRISH Heart Foundation and the National Heart Alliance (NHA) have called on parents to become watchdogs to protect their children against the marketing of unhealthy foods through TV adverts, social networking sites and cartoons.
The organisations will present to a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources tomorrow to press the case for a ban on the advertising of unhealthy foods to children.
The two organisations have established the Children’s Food Campaign and are encouraging parents to share their experiences of the impact of such marketing on a website, www.childrensfoodcampaign.net.
Childhood obesity is considered a time-bomb issue for Ireland’s public health system – one in five Irish children aged five to 17 years old is overweight or obese.
The estimated current cost of childhood obesity to the health service is €339 million per annum.
Across the European Union more than five million school-age children are estimated to be obese and each year nearly half a million more join that number.
According to the International Association for the Study of Obesity, nearly one million of these children already show signs of high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and early signs of heart disease.
As they become adults, they are more susceptible to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer as well as a range of mental health problems.
The World Health Organisation concluded in 2006 that there was strong scientific evidence to link the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to poor diets and obesity in children.
“The vast majority of food ads aimed at children are for products which are high in fat, salt and sugar – the classic junk foods like fizzy drinks, confectionary, sugary cereals, salty snacks and fast food,” says Janis Morrissey, dietitian with the Irish Heart Foundation.
“The Children’s Food Campaign was set up in response to parental concern about lack of legislation over food ads to children, but also to raise awareness among those parents who may not be aware of the marketing subtleties employed to attract children towards unhealthy foods.”
According to the European Consumer’s Organisation, a key problem is that young children have difficulty understanding that advertising is a tool to sell products.
“Research has shown that children under eight can not understand the difference,” says Morrissey. “The advertisers use music, bright colours and characters to make it feel like a programme so that a child won’t know it’s an advert. It’s very sophisticated. That is why they need protection.”
The regulations that currently govern advertising to children in Ireland are in section 7 of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland’s Children’s Advertising Code. The focus is on encouraging responsible broadcasting – in other words, a voluntary code of practice for the food and advertising industries.
Over the past five years numerous organisations including the Irish Heart Foundation, the Consumers Association of Ireland and the Children’s Rights Alliance have highlighted that the code is insufficient to protect the health of children.
They have also called for a complete ban on the advertising of unhealthy foods to children before the 9pm watershed, a move they say would be a huge boost in the fight against childhood obesity.
Such a ban would bring Ireland into line with many other European countries including the UK where the government has banned advertising of high fat and high sugar foods during TV programmes aimed at children up to 16 years.
Sweden and the Netherlands have both implemented extensive bans on advertising to children under 12.
According to a 2008 opinion poll carried out by Red C on behalf of the National Heart Alliance, there is overwhelming public support for such a move here. Four out of five parents support a ban, while nine out of 10 parents agree that advertising influences their children’s food choices.
The Broadcasting Bill 2008, which is currently progressing through the Oireachtas, gives Minister Eamon Ryan the option to prohibit the advertising of foods and beverages, particularly those which contain fat, trans-fatty acids, salts or sugars.
Action can not be taken however until the bill is enacted. “We have seen from the UK case that it can work,” says Morrissey. “We will urge the committee to ensure that once the new Broadcasting Authority of Ireland is established, it will prioritise the introduction of a ban.”
The Children’s Rights Alliance has called for the ban to take a broad definition of what constitutes children’s programming, arguing that it is not simply a programme made for children, but also other programmes that children watch such as soap operas and sports programmes.
According to the Irish Heart Foundation, the food industry is now using websites and text campaigns to increase brand loyalty among very young children.
The organisation believes the Government needs to target not only TV advertising but also advertising online and in cinemas, as well as school sponsorship.
Morrissey casts this issue as a battle between David and Goliath. “The food industry has a massive budget at its disposal to promote its products to kids. No health awareness campaign from any organisation can possibly counter that. This is why we need a legislative approach.
“There is a lot of focus at present on children’s rights – well, a ban on food advertising would be an example of how we can legislate to protect our children.”
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