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Governmental policies to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children.

ABSTRACT: Reducing children's exposure to food marketing is an important obesity prevention strategy. This narrative review describes current statutory regulations that restrict food marketing; reviews available evidence on the effects of these regulations; and compares policy design elements in Chile and the United Kingdom. Currently, 16 countries have statutory regulations on unhealthy food marketing to children. Restrictions on television advertising, primarily during children's programming, are most common. Schools are also a common setting for restrictions. Regulations on media such as cinema, mobile phone applications, print, packaging, and the internet are uncommon. Eleven evaluations of policies in 4 jurisdictions found small or no policy-related reductions in unhealthy food advertising, in part because marketing shifted to other programs or venues; however, not all policies have been evaluated. Compared with the United Kingdom, Chile restricts marketing on more products, across a wider range of media, using more marketing techniques. Future research should examine which elements of food marketing policy design are most effective at reducing children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing.

SUBMITTER: Taillie LS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7528677 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Governmental policies to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children.

Taillie Lindsey Smith LS Busey Emily E Stoltze Fernanda Mediano FM Dillman Carpentier Francesca Renee FR

Nutrition reviews 20191101 11

Reducing children's exposure to food marketing is an important obesity prevention strategy. This narrative review describes current statutory regulations that restrict food marketing; reviews available evidence on the effects of these regulations; and compares policy design elements in Chile and the United Kingdom. Currently, 16 countries have statutory regulations on unhealthy food marketing to children. Restrictions on television advertising, primarily during children's programming, are most c ...[more]

PMID: 31329232

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Project description:Children's exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing has a direct impact on their dietary preference for, and consumption of, unhealthy food and drinks. Most children spend time online, yet marketing restrictions for this medium have had slow uptake globally. A voluntary Children's and Young People's Advertising (CYPA) Code was implemented in Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ) in 2017. This study explores the Code's limitations in protecting children from harmful food and beverage marketing practices on digital platforms accessible to children. A cross-sectional content analysis of company websites (n = 64), Facebook pages (n = 32), and YouTube channels (n = 15) of the most popular food and beverage brands was conducted between 2019 and 2021 in NZ. Brands were selected based on market share, web traffic analysis and consumer engagement (Facebook page 'Likes' and YouTube page views). Analysis focused on volume and type of food posts/videos, level of consumer interaction, nutritional quality of foods pictured (based on two different nutrient profile models), and use of specific persuasive marketing techniques. Eighty-one percent of websites (n = 52) featured marketing of unhealthy food and beverages. Thirty-five percent of websites featuring unhealthy food and beverages used promotional strategies positioning their products as 'for kids'; a further 13% used 'family-oriented' messaging. Several websites featuring unhealthy products also had designated sections for children, 'advergaming,' or direct messaging to children. Eighty-five percent of all food and drink company Facebook posts and YouTube videos were classified as unhealthy. Twenty-eight percent of Facebook posts for unhealthy products featured persuasive promotional strategies, and 39% premium offers. Nearly 30% of YouTube videos for unhealthy food and beverages featured promotional strategies, and 13% premium offers. Ten percent of Facebook posts and 13% of YouTube videos of unhealthy food and beverages used marketing techniques specifically targeting children and young people. The voluntary CYPA Code has been in effect since 2017, but the inherent limitations and loopholes in the Code mean companies continue to market unhealthy food and beverages in ways that appeal to children even if they have committed to the Code. Comprehensive and mandatory regulation would help protect children from exposure to harmful marketing.

Project description:BackgroundIn 2016, Chile implemented a unique law mandating front-of-package warning labels, restricting marketing, and banning school sales for products high in calories, sodium, sugar, or saturated fat. We aimed to examine changes in the calorie, sugar, sodium, and saturated fat content of food and beverage purchases after the first phase of implementation of this law.MethodsThis before and after study used longitudinal data on food and beverage purchases from 2381 Chilean households from Jan 1, 2015, to Dec 31, 2017. Nutrition facts panel data from food and beverage packages were linked to household purchases at the product level using barcode, brand name, and product description. Nutritionists reviewed each product for nutritional accuracy and categorised it as high-in if it contained added sugar, sodium, or saturated fat and exceeded phase 1 nutrient or calorie thresholds, and thus was subject to the labelling, marketing, and school regulations. Using fixed-effects models, we examined the mean nutrient content (overall calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium) of purchases in the post-policy period compared to a counterfactual scenario based on pre-policy trends.FindingsCompared with the counterfactual scenario, overall calories purchased declined by 16·4 kcal/capita/day (95% CI -27·3 to -5·6; p=0·0031) or 3·5%. Overall sugar declined by 11·5 kcal/capita/day (-14·6 to -8·4; p<0·0001) or 10·2%, and saturated fat declined by 2·2 kcal/capita/day (-3·8 to -0·5; p=0·0097) or 3·9%. The sodium content of overall purchases declined by 27·7 mg/capita/day (-46·3 to -9·1; p=0·0035) or 4·7%. Declines from high-in purchases drove these results with some offset by increases in not-high-in purchases. Among high-in purchases, relative to the counterfactual scenario, there were notable declines of 23·8% in calories purchased (-49·4 kcal/capita/day, 95% CI -55·1 to -43·7; p<0·0001), 36·7% in sodium purchased (-96·6 mg/capita/day,-105·3 to -87·8; p<0·0001), and 26·7% in sugar purchased (-20·7 kcal/capita/day, -23·4 to -18·1; p<0·0001).InterpretationThe Chilean phase 1 law of food labelling and advertising policies were associated with reduced high-in purchases, leading to declines in purchased nutrients of concern. Greater changes might reasonably be anticipated after the implementation of phases 2 and 3.FundingBloomberg Philanthropies, International Development Research Center, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

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Governmental policies to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children.

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Governmental policies to reduce unhealthy food marketing to children.

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