July 8, 2014
Asian children bombarded with junk food ads on TV every four minutes
UOW study finds Asian kids are being bombarded with junk food advertising on television.
The study, published recently in Health Promotion International, which surveyed six sites across the Asia Pacific region, including in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea, found that 27 per cent of advertisements on free-to-air television were for food and beverages, with the most frequently advertised products being sugar-sweetened drinks, baby formula and ice cream.
This contrasts with findings from other countries, which indicate the most frequently promoted foods to be sugar-sweetened breakfast cereals, savoury snacks, fast food, confectionery and soft drinks.
The researchers also found junk food advertising was more common during popular children’s viewing times, when between three (South Korea) and 15 (Indonesia) unhealthy food advertisements were broadcast each hour.
Lead author and public health researcher at UOW's Early Start Research Institute, Dr Bridget Kelly, said previous studies have shown children are highly influenced by food advertising.
"Junk food advertising shapes children's food preferences, their food habits and their life-long consumption patterns," she said, adding that children in developing countries may be more vulnerable given the relative novelty of advertising in these markets.
With 2010 World Health Organisation statistics estimating the number of overweight children under the age of five around the world at more than 42 million, with close to 35 million of those living in developing countries, Dr Kelly said governments around the world need to take a hard stance against the food industry.
"Restricting unhealthy food advertising at times when the greatest number of children are watching television and putting limitations on persuasive techniques such as the use of characters and premium offers would be positive first steps.”
Dr Kelly said food marketing restrictions recently introduced in South Korea could provide a good basis for guidelines that could be adopted in other jurisdictions.
“The South Korean Government has taken a strong stance against junk food marketing to children and introduced meaningful regulations to limit children’s exposure to these ads on TV. Our results show that this is working, with South Korean children only exposed to a fraction of the junk food ads compared to countries with no restrictions,” Dr Kelly said.
Media contact: Dr Bridget Kelly is available for interview on +61 2 4221 3893 or bkelly@uow.edu.au.