Industry self‐regulation and TV advertising of foods to Australian children

Abstract

Although it is not possible to determine whether advertising has changed since the industry initiatives were introduced, signatories to the initiatives continue to advertise non-core foods at times when many children watch television. Future efforts to reduce children's exposure to food advertising should be focused on advertising during children's peak viewing times rather than by programme classifications.

Food advertising on Australian television: Frequency, duration and monthly pattern of advertising from a commercial network (four channels) for the entire 2016

“…We found similarities in the proportion of discretionary food advertising (ranging 41% in August to 71% in January) to other reports (ranging 44% to 93%). While no Australian studies have investigated the monthly or seasonal distributions of food advertising, our findings are similar to a UK study . The types of discretionary foods advertised are consistent with national and international studies where fast foods, confectionary, sugar‐sweetened beverages and snack foods were among the most frequently advertised foods.…”

“…In order to understand the scope of the food advertising problem in Australia, we need robust evidence. In 2012, our systematic review of Australian studies of food advertising reported widely varying estimates of children's exposure to discretionary food advertising on free‐to‐air television, ranging from 1.5 to 6.5 advertisements per hour . The review reported major problems with current evidence.…”

The healthfulness and prominence of sugar in child-targeted breakfast cereals in Canada

“…46,47 Given that the CAI fails to include packaging, children are bombarded with marketing features on breakfast cereal boxes that appeal to children. The Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition, a group of over 25 large nongovernmental health-and child-related organizations under the direction of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Childhood Obesity Foundation is advocating for the regulation of food and beverage marketing to children and youth in Canada.…”

Factors associated with parents' attitudes to unhealthy foods and beverages

“…In the Australian context, despite the existence of a system of voluntary food advertising regulation, the majority of food advertisements to which children are exposed are for unhealthy products . The ineffectiveness of these regulations and the results of the present study support the calls for more comprehensive approaches to advertising regulation . A potential example lies in the way alcohol advertising is controlled in France, where only very limited information can be conveyed, such as that relating to product origin and composition .…”