18 April 2008
Four out of five people (83 per cent) believe that irresponsible marketing of unhealthy food makes it harder to encourage children to eat a healthy diet, shows new Which? research*.
Restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food to children on non-broadcast promotions, such as online and on packaging, are either weak or non-existent. Meanwhile current regulations for TV advertising don’t cover adverts during the programmes that children watch the most**.
The research also reveals that four out of five people (84 per cent) think the Government needs to do more to control the way unhealthy foods are marketed to children* and, with the second reading of Nigel Griffiths MP’s Food Products (Marketing to Children) Bill a week away, Which? is urging MPs to listen to parents across the country and lend their support.
The Bill seeks to introduce robust restrictions on broadcast and non-broadcast promotions of unhealthy food to children. It has received support from a large number of MPs along with a range of health, consumer and children’s organisations and experts.
If the Bill is to pass through Parliament, over 100 MPs must attend the debate on 25 April. Many concerned consumers have been e-mailing their MPs via the Which? website***.
Clare Corbett, Food Campaigner, Which? said:
“New types of promotions, like online and text messaging, have given food companies a whole new playground to promote unhealthy products to children. It’s no wonder pester power is a continuing problem and our research shows the real strength of public feeling.
“With childhood obesity and diet-related health problems on the increase****, the Government must take serious action - and soon. It is a complex problem, with no easy solution, but with approaches from every angle, including an end to irresponsible marketing, there’s more chance of winning the battle against childhood obesity.”
-Ends-
* 2027 adults aged 16+, representative of the UK population, were interviewed between 8th and 12th February 2008.
** Current Ofcom rules are based on the proportion of children watching a programme rather than the actual number.
*** People can encourage their local MP to support this action by writing to them online at www.which.co.uk/kidsfoodaction
**** The Government’s Foresight Report (Foresight Tackling Obesities: Future Choices – Project Report, Government Office for Science, October 2007) recently predicted that, by 2050, 70 per cent of girls and 55 per cent of boys will be obese or overweight, and the cost of this rise in the overall population will reach £45.5bn per annum.
> Which? is supporting Nigel Griffiths MP’s Food Products (Marketing to Children) Bill. The Bill will:
• Introduce a 9pm watershed for television advertising of unhealthy food; and
• Protect children from other methods of marketing for unhealthy food
> For a copy of the briefing, please contact Kate Turnbull on 0207 770 7582, or e-mail kate.turnbull@which.co.uk
