It's time to stop the processed food industry from compromising children's health

One in four Australian children live with overweight or obesity. Much of this can be attributed to poor diets, which in turn is driven by the marketing of unhealthy foods. In today’s post, VicHealth (@VicHealth) Research Fellow Alexandra Chung (@Chung_Alexandra) of Monash University (MonashUni) traces the problem to its origins in childhood and explains recent proposals to curb commercial activity that compromises children’s health.

Australian children’s diets

Early childhood is a critical time for the development of healthy dietary behaviours. The foods that young children are exposed to and regularly consume form the basis of their longer-term eating habits. Influences on children’s diets are many and varied, and include individual and family food preferences, childcare and school settings, neighbourhood food environments, food marketing, and the political and economic systems that influence opportunities to access and afford a healthy diet.

Current diets of Australian children fall short on key food groups such as vegetables, and frequently include commercially produced foods, such as ready-made meals, snack foods, sugar-sweetened drinks and confectionary. These foods are typically highly processed, contain added sugar, fat, and/or salt, and are aggressively marketed to parents and children alike.

Marketing food for children – a big business

Breakfast cereals position themselves as ‘healthy’ while marketing directly to children. They are far from the only culprit. Photo by Carlie Wright: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bowl-of-cereal-with-marshmallows-10562796/

Food marketing is a powerful tool. A commercial practice employed by the processed food industry, food marketing is prevalent across television and digital media, throughout our neighbourhoods on billboards and public transport, at community and elite sporting events, in retail environments, and across food packaging. Many of the foods that are promoted are unhealthy, creating norms around food that are at odds with healthy eating guidelines.

Evidence shows that food marketing works. Unhealthy food marketing undermines parents’ intentions to feed their children well. Unhealthy marketing negatively influences children’s dietary behaviours, increasing their requests and preference for, and consumption of, unhealthy food and drinks. In children, unhealthy diets can lead to excess weight, sleep problems, behavioural issues and poor concentration. In later life, unhealthy diets can cause excess weight, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. The health consequences are very real, yet the processed food industry continues to exploit children’s health for commercial gain.

Concern is growing

Protecting children from the harms of food marketing is now recognised as a global priority. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged governments to act to reduce children’s exposure to marketing of foods high in fats, sugars and salt. More recently the WHO released policy guidance to  protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing, supporting governments with policy design and implementation.

Australia’s National Obesity Strategy 2022-2032 and National Preventive Health Strategy 2021-2030 include strategies to reduce children’s exposure to forms of unhealthy food and drink marketing including advertising on television, digital media and publicly owned spaces and through sponsorship of sports and community events. These strategies also acknowledge commercial determinants and identify levers for action to utilise their protective effects and reduce their harmful effects on health.

What can be done?

In May this year, independent MP Sophie Scamps introduced the Healthy Kids Advertising Bill 2023 into the Australian Parliament proposing to remove unhealthy food ads from TV and radio between the hours of 6am and 9:30pm, and to ban junk food marketing on social media and other online platforms. This is an important step in a national conversation around protecting children from commercial activities and is promising action on some of the recommendations made in the National Obesity Strategy.

In Victoria, there is a renewed focus on healthy diets, including for example VicHealth’s 10-year strategy prioritising food systems with a focus on fair access to healthy food for all Victorians. VicHealth highlights key challenges to good health, including the influence of commercial actors on health and wellbeing. Action to address harmful commercial influences on children’s diets is backed by strong public support. Parents expect governments to protect their children from harmful interests and support regulation of unhealthy food marketing.

With current global and local attention, and a spot on the political agenda underpinned by robust evidence and strong public support, the time is right for governments to act to protect children’s health from the harms of unhealthy food marketing.

Alexandra Chung currently holds a VicHealth Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Dr Chung’s research is integral to monitoring the Commercial Determinants of Children’s diets and their impact on children’s health. Her views may not reflect the position of VicHealth.  

 Posted by Susan Maury (@SusanMaury)