How Malnourished Children are a Billion-dollar Industry

This opinion piece article was written as part of the Science Politics course at the Centre for Public Awareness of Science. Its views and expressions are an exercise in positioning and not reflecting the views of the author.

Making money off children for decades.

Does the thought of a higher-priced bottle of coca-cola or snickers bar make you feel indifferent or angry? Have you ever bought fast food when money is tight?

If yes, then you have been successfully recruited and indoctrinated by companies that seek to centre harmful products as a necessity in our lives.

They lack self-awareness, are easily influenced by colours and popular fictional characters, have little concept of money or healthily eating and a billion dollar a year industry; For advertising, children are easy prey[5].

Companies target children pushing high-profit and health-destroying products into their (and our) faces resulting in a cycle of poor diets with a life of chronic health problems and pain that is difficult to escape from.

Children are exposed to double the unhealthy advertising messages then they are healthy foods; if watching around 80 minutes of TV a day, children see 800 ads for fast food each year, which equates to around two ads a day pushing messages about how delicious and fun fast food is [8].

This is even more sinister when showing all the amazing toys children could get if they get their parents to buy them a happy meal or a kinder surprise; with companies tying unhealthy foods to as much branding as possible like kid popular franchises like Avengers or Frozen.

When’s the last time you saw Elsa or the Iron Man anywhere near something not filled with sugar?

How to target children.

We know without a doubt, that exposing children to unhealthy food advertising influences their food choices and contributes to poor diets and obesity [7].

However, Australia’s advertising regulations is far behind other countries, there are few regulations surrounding advertising to children[1].

Currently, most companies all put forward their own definitions of a healthy diet, “Cocopops” is considered a healthy choice by the Kellogs company but receives ⅖ stars from the government health star rating6].

The current regulations for advertising only cover advertising that is “directed primarily at children”[6].

Initially, this sounds like it should work, however, this doesn’t include, advertising directed at adults or importantly adults AND children, or if the advertisement is directed at parents (despite being appealing to children)[6].

This means that our advertising codes intended to protect children from being influenced by unhealthy food marketing, doesn’t apply to advertising that actually influences children, and ONLY to advertising the explicitly is intended for children[6].

Protecting Kids from Malicious Companies.

The Obesity Policy Coalition outlines that a government-led reform must be prioritised and that any solutions to address the advertising issue needs to:

1. Clearly define terms like ‘unhealthy’, ‘unhealthy food marketing’, ‘children’ and ‘directed to children’’[6].
2. Consistently and transparently define ‘unhealthy food’ with government and scientific guidelines[6].
3. Apply to ALL forms and locations of marketing and media[6].
4. Restrict the content and placement of advertising, such as restricting advertising on children's streaming apps and during peak children watch times on TV. and;
5. Ensure that compliance with any solution is monitored and enforced[6].

What can we do?

1. The easiest thing you can do is make personal lifestyle changes, by reducing the foods you and your children consume[6].
2. Raise awareness of unhealthy foods and advertising. (Possibly by sharing this post ;) )[6].
3. Petition local governments, schools and workplaces to improve healthy eating habits[6].
4. Advocate for “unhealthy food” restriction like sugar taxes, healthy schools, public health policies, and nutrition regulations.

If we can change and regulate advertising, we can reduce obesity in children, improve diets and improve children’s health.

Too long has the food industry had free reign to market what they want to children it’s time we put a stop to advertisers grooming of children for unhealthy eating habits?

Next time you’re at the shops, count how many different cereals there are and ask yourself, is this really healthy food?

For more info and things you can do, visit www.opc.org.au/what-you-can-do

References

1. Advertising & marketing of food & beverages to children — Obesity Policy Coalition (2019) Opc.org.au, Available from: https://www.opc.org.au/what-we-do/advertising-marketing (accessed 16 October 2019).
2. Cracked (2016) If Soda Commercials Were Honest — Honest Ads (Coca-cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper Parody). Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXwFlp9IoI (accessed 17 October 2019).
3. Cracked (2017) If Children’s Cereal Commercials Were Honest — Honest Ads. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5AApxSzlyY (accessed 17 October 2019).
4. Cracked (2017) If Junk Food Commercials Were Honest — Honest Ads. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8lgZxYxpC8 (accessed 17 October 2019).
5. Federal Trade Commission (2008) Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation.
6. Mills C, Martin J and Antonopoulos N (2015) End the Charade! The ongoing failure to protect children from unhealthy food marketing. Melbourne: Obesity Policy Coalition, Available from: https://www.opc.org.au/downloads/submissions/end-the-charade.pdf (accessed 17 October 2019).
7. Robinson TN, Borzekowski DLG, Matheson DM, Kraemer HC. Effects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children’s Taste Preferences. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;161(8):792–797. doi:10.1001/archpedi.161.8.792
8. Smithers L, Haag D and Agnew B et al. (2018) Food advertising on Australian television: Frequency, duration and monthly pattern of advertising from a commercial network (four channels) for the entire 2016. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 54(9), 962–967.

Reflection Notes: Original title for an article was why we need a public health policy rather than a sugar tax but evolved into advertising. My concern is that this isn’t really an opinion and more of activism/call to action. I also think having examples of advertising would make this stronger.