Research Tackles Food Advertising To Children
The Advertising Association’s Food Advertising Unit has unveiled a new research study which shows 87% of parents don’t believe that food advertising should be banned.
The Family Food Survey, which quizzed over 1,500 adults via an independent website, shows that 63% of parents cite advertising as a major influence on what type of food children asked for.
The findings follow a damning report from the Food Commission, which revealed that the £15 billion spent globally on advertising junk food to children is putting their health at risk (see Advertisers Charged With Endangering Children’s Health).
Dr John Reilly, a leading expert on child health, has also warned that childhood obesity in Britain has reached epidemic levels and is on the rise, as children spend an increasing amount of time watching television.
In an attempt to tackle the increasing problem posed by obesity, Labour MP, Debra Shipley, recently tabled a motion to ban food advertising aimed at children. The Bill ran out of time but is expected to be reintroduced in the next parliamentary session (see Set Back For Plans To Ban Food Advertising To Children).
The FAU has posed stiff opposition to any proposals to curtail the advertising of food to children and its latest research claims that 96% of respondents believe it is the parents’ responsibility to explain to children that they can’t have everything they see advertised. Only 14% of parents had agreed to let a child try a product they had asked for after seeing it advertised.
Commenting on the research, Jeremy Preston, director of the FAU, said: “TV advertising has been around in the UK for 40 years and parents are realising that, along with other types of advertising, it has now become a way of life – it has a role to play in providing information about products and helping in deciding brand choice.”
He continued: “However, the food and advertising industries recognise that there is an increase in children becoming overweight and strongly believe that the solution lie in maintaining a healthy diet and, most importantly, ensuring the right level of exercise.”
According to the Food Commission, for every 70p spent by the World Heath Organisation on preventing the diseases caused by junk food, the advertising industry spends more than £300 promoting them (see Advertisers Charged With Endangering Children’s Health).
Food Advertising Unit: www.fau.org.uk
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