Business as usual in food advertising to children 'financially unsustainable'

Healthy Auckland Together is asking the reviewers of the advertising code for children to consider the cost of promotion of unhealthy foods to the country’s economy.

The coalition’s submission to the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) review of its Code for Advertising to Children and its Children’s Code for Advertising Food asserts that business as usual in food promotion is a financially unsustainable path for our country.

Public health physician Dr Michael Hale says marketing calorie dense food to children is detrimental to their health. "In the future, we’ll see a continuing decline in productivity and burgeoning demands on the tax system."

Dr Hale says limiting the advertising of calorie dense, nutrient poor food is considered internationally as an extremely cost effective way to reduce childhood obesity.

While the BMI change might be small for each child, with an Australian study estimating a 0.17 reduction, across a population it would make a large contribution for little cost.

The same Australian study estimated the potential healthcare savings of reducing junk food advertising to children to be around $AU300 million. Obesity is estimated to cost New Zealand between NZ$722 million and NZ$849 million a year in health care and lost productivity.

With 70 percent of food advertising on TV for high fat, salt and sugar products, these foods are now considered normal and completely acceptable.

"Adults understand that a sportsperson did not achieve their sporting status because of the food and drink they are advertising, but children do not realise this," says Dr Hale.

"Parents will still decide what food to buy their children, we are not ending parental responsibility. Instead Healthy Auckland Together would like it to be easier for parents to choose better food, by reducing pestering and relentless promotion," he says

The submission calls for co-regulation, instead of the current self-regulation model where the codes are set, administered and enforced by the advertising industry itself.

And with more children exposed to food marketing online and in games, the guidelines would need to cover these newer forms.

The coalition also recommends broader restrictions of where advertising can occur. Children are arguably the most vulnerable consumers targeted by food advertisers, who invest significant money into building positive relationship between children and their brands, Dr Hale says.

The closing date for submissions is April 13, 2016.

The Healthy Auckland Together submission can be read at http://www.healthyaucklandtogether.org.nz/assets/Uploads/Healthy-Auckland-Together-Submission.pdf

Healthy Auckland Together is a coalition of organisations from health, local government, iwi, university and NGOs, formed to change the food and urban environment so Aucklanders can keep a healthy weight, eat better and move more.

ENDS

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