Governments failing to protect child rights by not restricting junk food marketing

A new report from World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) highlights that countries around the world, including the UK, are failing to protect children from the effects that junk food marketing has on their health.

According to WCRF, marketing affects what children want, buy and eat, which in turn affects their health and contributes to the increasing levels of childhood obesity.

Previous research has shown that seeing 4.4 minutes of food advertising can lead to children eating 60 more calories a day¹, and eating as little as 46 extra calories each day can lead to excess weight in children.

In the UK alone, one in three children are overweight or obese when they leave primary school.

The report takes lessons learned from around the world, highlighting that restricting marketing of junk food to children reduces their exposure to these products and therefore reduces how much of them they eat. This can help reduce childhood obesity rates and it is why marketing restrictions are internationally recognised as urgently needed.

Caroline Cerny, Obesity Health Alliance lead, said: “TV shows and websites popular with children are flooded with adverts for high fat and sugary products and the government needs to do more to ensure that children are adequately protected. There is overwhelming public support for a 9pm watershed on junk food adverts across all types of media. If we ignore the evidence and calls for stronger marketing restrictions to uphold child rights and improve child health, the UK will not make progress on reversing its childhood obesity rates.”

Kate Oldridge-Turner, head of policy and public affairs at WCRF, said: “We are calling for the new UK government to take a fresh approach at tackling childhood obesity rates, and what better time than Sugar Awareness Week (20–26 January). For example, by introducing tighter restrictions on junk food marketing aimed at children that prevent food companies finding loopholes in the current legislation; such as a 9pm watershed on junk food adverts across all media.”

Katharine Jenner, nutritionist and campaign director at Action on Sugar, said: “As we embark on a new decade with a new government and a strong mandate, the time is right to be bold and restrict these food and drink promotions with immediate effect.”