The effectiveness of self-regulation in limiting the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages on children’s preferred websites in Canada

Kent, Monique Potvin; Pauzé, Elise

doi:10.1017/s1368980017004177

Cited by 52 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Though not related to the CAI or the Uniform Nutrition Criteria, it is interesting to note that our study identified four Red Bull advertisements (one in May 2016 and three in May 2013) during programs where child viewership reached 35% even though Health Canada regulations prohibit the advertising of energy drinks to children [ 38 ]. Similar results have been found on 2 of 10 Canadian child preferred websites where ads for Red Bull appeared on websites where children aged 2–11 constituted more than 45% of website visitors [ 39 ]. The promotion of energy drinks to children is worrisome given the adverse health effects associated with their consumption including anxiety, sleep disturbances, cardiovascular and gastro-intestinal symptoms, and even seizures and death in some rare cases [ 40 , 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

The effectiveness of the food and beverage industry’s self-established uniform nutrition criteria at improving the healthfulness of food advertising viewed by Canadian children on television

Kent

Smith

Pauzé

et al. 2018

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

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BackgroundFood and beverage marketing has been identified as an environmental determinant of childhood obesity. The purpose of this study is to assess whether the Uniform Nutrition Criteria established and implemented by companies participating in the self-regulatory Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI) had an impact on the healthfulness of food and beverage advertising during television programming with a high share of children in the viewing audience.MethodsData on food advertising were licensed from Numeris for 27 television stations for Toronto for May 2013 and May 2016 (i.e. before and after the implementation of the nutrition criteria). First, television programs that had a child audience share of ≥35% (when the nutrition criteria applied) were identified. Ten percent of these programs were randomly selected and included in the study. After identifying the food and beverage ads that aired during these programs, the nutritional information of advertised products was collected and their healthfulness was assessed using the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and UK Nutrient Profile Models (NPM). The healthfulness of CAI products advertised in May 2013 and 2016 was compared using Chi-square tests.ResultsAlthough in May 2016, products advertised by CAI companies were more likely to be categorized as healthier by the UK NPM (21.5% versus 6.7%, χ2(1) = 12.1,p = 000) compared to those advertised in May 2013, the frequency of advertised products considered less healthy in May 2016 remained very high (78.5%) and comparable to that of products advertised by companies not participating in the CAI (80.0% categorized as less healthy). Furthermore, in both May 2013 and May 2016, 99–100% of CAI advertisements featured products deemed excessive in either fat (total, saturated, trans), sodium or free sugars according to the PAHO NPM.ConclusionsDespite modest improvements noted after the implementation of the CAI’s Uniform Nutrition Criteria, the healthfulness of most products advertised during programs with a high share of children in the viewing audience remains poor. Mandatory regulations are needed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

The effectiveness of the food and beverage industry’s self-established uniform nutrition criteria at improving the healthfulness of food advertising viewed by Canadian children on television

Kent

Smith

Pauzé

et al. 2018

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act

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“…In general, television-viewing environments encourage children to eat (especially when food advertisements are being aired), and watching television and eating at the same time is associated with childhood obesity [38]. Unsurprisingly, the healthfulness of advertisements noted in this study reflects the advertising of food and beverages to children on television and in digital media [17,23,24,[39][40][41]. These findings are concerning, given that food and beverage advertising is known to influence children's caloric intake following exposure [14] and children may not compensate for this increased intake at subsequent meals [15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Frequency and Healthfulness of Food and Beverage Advertising in Movie Theatres: A Pilot Study Conducted in the United States and Canada

et al. 2020

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The marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages contributes to childhood obesity. In Canada and the United States, these promotions are self-regulated by industry. However, these regulations do not apply to movie theatres, which are frequently visited by children. This pilot study examined the frequency and healthfulness of food advertising in movie theatres in the United States and Canada. A convenience sample of seven movie theatres in both Virginia (US) and Ontario (Canada) were visited once per month for a four-month period. Each month, ads in the movie theatre environment and before the screening of children’s movies were assessed. Food ads were categorized as permissible or not permissible for marketing to children using the World Health Organization’s European Nutrient Profile Model. There were 1999 food ads in the movie theatre environment in Ontario and 43 food ads identified in the movie theatre environment in Virginia. On average, 8.6 (SD = 3.3) and 2.2 (SD = 0.9) food ads were displayed before children’s movies in Ontario and Virginia, respectively. Most or all (97–100%) food ads identified in Virginia and Ontario were considered not permissible for marketing to children. The results suggest that movie theatre environments should be considered for inclusion in statutory food marketing restrictions in order to protect children’s health.

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“…In Canada, there are mandatory M2K restrictions in the province of Québec, while in the rest of the country, the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI), a voluntary, industry-led program is in place. However, both have been criticized for having limited effectiveness in restricting children's exposure to HFSS foods due to loopholes such as limited or loosely defined criteria for the marketing media that are considered under the scope of the restrictions (e.g., lenient children's viewership thresholds, or product packaging not being included), or in the case of the CAI, its voluntary nature [8][9][10][11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the Canadian Packaged Food Supply Using Health Canada’s Proposed Nutrient Criteria for Restricting Food and Beverage Marketing to Children

Mulligan

Christoforou

Vergeer

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Federally mandated restrictions on food and beverage marketing to kids (M2K) have been re-introduced as a national public health priority in Canada by the newly elected government, following the failure to implement a similar policy first proposed in 2016. This study examined the extent to which Canadian packaged foods, including products already displaying M2K on the packaging, would be permitted to be marketed, based on the nutrient criteria for marketing restrictions defined by Health Canada (in December 2018) as part of the previous policy proposal. Products from the University of Toronto Food Label Information Program 2013 database (n = 15,200) were evaluated using Health Canada’s published criteria: thresholds for sodium, sugars and saturated fats that products cannot exceed in order to be M2K. The proportion of products exceeding no thresholds (i.e., permitted to be M2K), the number of thresholds exceeded, and the proportion exceeding each individual threshold were calculated overall and in the subsample of products displaying M2K on the packaging (n = 747). Overall, 18.0% of products would be permitted to be M2K, versus 2.7% of products displaying M2K. Sodium was the most exceeded threshold overall (57.5% of products), whereas sugars was the most exceeded by products displaying M2K (80.1%). Only 4.7% of all products versus 10.4% of products displaying M2K exceeded all three thresholds. These results highlight the importance of reintroducing federal regulations restricting M2K in Canada and including marketing on product packaging in the regulatory scope.

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The effectiveness of self-regulation in limiting the advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages on children’s preferred websites in Canada

Abstract: The CAI is not limiting unhealthy food and beverage advertising on children's preferred websites in Canada. Mandatory regulations are needed.

Cited by 52 publications

References 29 publications

The effectiveness of the food and beverage industry’s self-established uniform nutrition criteria at improving the healthfulness of food advertising viewed by Canadian children on television

The effectiveness of the food and beverage industry’s self-established uniform nutrition criteria at improving the healthfulness of food advertising viewed by Canadian children on television

The Frequency and Healthfulness of Food and Beverage Advertising in Movie Theatres: A Pilot Study Conducted in the United States and Canada

Evaluating the Canadian Packaged Food Supply Using Health Canada’s Proposed Nutrient Criteria for Restricting Food and Beverage Marketing to Children

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