Nutrition Australia Position Statement: Food Advertising directed at Children.

Statement developed: May 2002.
Revised: October 2002

Nutrition Australia asserts that the food intake of children is an important contributor to their present and future health. Childhood obesity is a rapidly increasing problem (1,2) with up to 25% of Australian children being overweight or obese. This has implications for the rising rate of diabetes in childhood, and obesity and diabetes in adult life (3).

Food preferences of children are an important determinant of what they eat (4). The food preferences of children are heavily influenced by parents, carers, peer pressure and the media (4, 5). Nutrition Australia believes that all of these areas should be targeted to improve dietary intake in childhood and adolescence. Media advertisement is an area where government and/or industry regulation is accepted practice and advertising foods to children an important area currently poorly regulated.

Approximately 30% of non program content during children's television viewing hours in Australia and New Zealand is for food (6, 7). The majority of this food is of questionable nutritional value, a result found in many countries (6, 7, 8, 9, 10). Such advertising is directed at influencing the food preferences of children, and it has been shown to be effective at doing so (11, 12). The consistency of food messages provided through television advertising with current dietary recommendations is poor (7, 8). Children need to be protected from commercial influences, particularly those that have the potential to adversely impact on their present or future health.

Children in the United States who view television as a normal part of their meal routine have poorer dietary habits than those who don't (13). By the time they leave high school, the hours spent watching television will have exceeded the hours spent in school (8).

As an organised society we accept a societal responsibility for the future health of our children. Therefore, we should ensure the existence of social structures that actively support and promote healthy food choices for children. Nutrition Australia notes that there are precedents for a total ban of TV advertising directed at children (eg Sweden, the Canadian province of Quebec).

Nutrition Australia believe that all television advertising of food during children's viewing hours (early morning, post school and early evening) should meet minimum standards. These standards should include a restriction on the number of minutes of food advertising allowed per hour, prohibition of any false or misleading messages that a child could reasonably be expected to draw from advertising, and the appropriate placement of advertised food in the context of the whole diet. Guidelines for advertisers should include the requirement that advertised foods are consistent with the spirit of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and the 'eat most' segment of the Healthy Eating Pyramid, and that these healthy eating principles are promoted as part of the advertisement.

In the circumstances where appropriate television advertising guidelines and standards are not developed and followed, Nutrition Australia consider that a prohibition on television advertising of food during children's viewing hours is a better alternative to the current situation where television food advertising is inconsistent with the development of healthy eating habits.

Community action is urgently needed to ensure that the advertising of food to children on television is appropriately regulated.

References:

1. Baur LA. Obesity: definitely a growing problem. Med J Aust 2001;174:553-554.
2. Magarey AM, Daniels LA, Boulton TJC. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Australian children and adolescents: reassessment of 1985 and 1995 data against new standard international definitions. Med J Aust 2001;174:561-64.
3. Caterson I. What should we do about overweight and obesity? Med J Aust 1999;171:599-600.
4. Birch LL, Fisher JA. Appetite and eating behaviour in children. Pediatric Clinics of North America 1995;42:931-953.
5. Skinner J, Carruth BR, Moran J, et al. Toddler's food preferences: concordance with family member's preferences. J Nutr Ed 1998;30:17-22.
6. Wilson N, Quigley R, Mansoor O. Food ads on TV: a health hazard for children? Aust NZ J Pub Health 1999;23:647-50.
7. Hill J, Radimer K. A content analysis of food advertisements in television for Australian children. Aust J Nutr Diet 1997;54:174-80.
8. Byrd-Bredbenner C, Grasso D. Health, medicine and food messages in television commercials during 1992 and 1998. J School Health 2000;70:61-5.
9. Hammond KM, Wyllie A, Casswell S. The extent and nature of televised food advertising to New Zealand children and adolescents. Aust NZ J Pub Health 1999;23:49-55.
10. Lewis MK, Hill AJ. Food advertising on British children's television: a content analysis and experimental study with nine-year olds. Int J Obes Rel Metab Dis 1998;22:206-14.
11. Borzekowski DLG, Robinson TN. The 30-second effect: An experiment revealing the impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers. J Am Diet Assoc 2001;101:42-46.
12. Kraak V, Pelletier DL. How marketers reach young consumers: implications for nutrition education and health promotion campaigns. Fam Econ Nutr Rev 1998;11:31-39.
13. Coon KA, Goldberg J, Rogers BL, Tucker KL. Relationships between use of television during meals and children's food consumption patterns. Pediatrics 2001;107:E7.

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