Impact of a voluntary industry code for advertising food to children and young people: an analysis of New Zealand television data

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the 2017 update to the voluntary Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Code for Advertising Food on children and young people’s exposure to unhealthy food advertisements on New Zealand television. Design: Audience ratings data were analysed for New Zealand children and young people’s television viewing for eight random days prior to (June to August 2015) and following (October to December 2018) the code update, from 6.00am-midnight (864 hours). Food advertisements were coded using three nutrient profiling models. The number of children and young people watching television each year were compared. Setting: Three free-to-air New Zealand television channels. Participants: New Zealand children aged 5-18 years. Results: Television viewer numbers decreased over the three years (P<0.0001). The mean rate of unhealthy food advertising on weekdays was 10.4 advertisements/hour (2015) and 9.5 advertisements/hour (2018). Corresponding rates for weekend days were 8.1 and 7.3 advertisements/hour, respectively. The percentage of food advertisements which were for unhealthy foods remained high (63.7% on weekdays and 65.9% on weekends) in 2018. The ASA definition of children’s ‘peak viewing time’ (when 25% of the audience are children) did not correspond to any broadcast times across weekdays and weekend days. Conclusions: Between 2015 and 2018, children and young people’s television exposure to unhealthy food advertising decreased. However, almost two-thirds of all food advertisements were still unhealthy, and the updated ASA code excluded the times when the greatest number of children were watching television. Consequently, government regulation and regular monitoring should reflect the evolving food marketing environment.

Unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children on digital platforms in Aotearoa, New Zealand

“…Recent research on children's exposure to UFB marketing in media and settings in NZ have demonstrated significant exposure to unhealthy product and brand marketing on television [35,36], outdoor settings in school zones [37][38][39], through sports sponsorship [40] and as a ubiquitous presence as they go about their daily life [41]. Children in the latest KidsCam study were exposed to UFB marketing an average of 68 times a day across all settings, which was more than twice their exposure to healthier food marketing (average 26 times per day), and 10% of their total marketing exposure was on screens [42].…”