Reshma Ravishanker
The World Health Organization on Monday issued a set of guidelines to protect children from the adverse effects of food marketing.
Much after doctors world-over have been pushing policy makers to restrict advertising and improve labelling on unhealthy food, the WHO has now asked countries to implement comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or salt (HFSS).
“More than 10 years after Member States endorsed WHO’s recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children in 2010, children continue to be exposed to powerful marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, consumption of which is associated with negative health effects,” the WHO has said in a statement.
These guidelines come in the wake of recent studies indicating that exposure to marketing drives has contributed to poor health, eating behavior issues and a change in attitude and beliefs among children about the consumption of food.
“In short, food marketing remains a threat to public health and continues to negatively affect children’s food choices, intended choices and their dietary intake. It also negatively influences the development of children’s norms about food consumption,” they said in a statement.
‘Restricting the power of food marketing to persuade’ as a strategy has also been found to be impactful, which involves limiting the use of cartoons or techniques that appeal to children, such as including toys with products, advertising with songs, and celebrity endorsements.
Primary recommendations
Mandatory regulation of marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages
Countries must use a nutrient profile model, which governments development; adopt policies comprehensive enough to minimize intra and inter-medium migration to avoid restrictions on marketing in regulated channels or settings
Country-centric policies to protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing
Collaborations with governments to facilitate healthy food environments to enable healthy dietary decisions, establish lifelong healthy eating habits, improve dietary quality and decrease the risk of noncommunicable diseases worldwide.
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