You’re shopping for groceries and suddenly your child is begging for the sugar-loaded fruit-flavoured snack with Despicable Me 3 on the package. Or it’s movie night at home, but your kids keep asking for the toaster strudel in the freezer, inspired by a TV ad of the Pillsbury Doughboy.
What parent hasn’t had similar experiences, over and over again?
Instinctively, most of us worry that the marketing of unhealthy food to children is effective, and wrong. And many research studies — along with recommendations from the World Health Organization and other international bodies — now confirm and act on those concerns.
Canada’s response is the Child Health Protection Act (Bill S-228), which the Senate passed last year and which will likely get a final reading in the House of Commons this fall. The act proposes restrictions on the marketing of food and beverages high in sodium, sugar and saturated fat to children under the age of 13.
This legislation is a huge step forward for child health in Canada, one that all parents should welcome and support.
Importantly, the bill defines marketing broadly to include traditional forms like product packaging, TV and print ads and the use of characters and celebrities, as well as digital marketing platforms and tactics such as web banner ads, advergames and social media. This means children will be protected where they live and play — in schools, in communities, online and in the home.
The act also takes a strong stance on which foods and beverages are unhealthy. Marketing of products with more than approximately 5per cent of the daily value (DV) for sodium, sugar or saturated fat will be restricted, which includes the vast majority of food products that currently target kids.
My research lab at the University of Toronto recently looked at more than 15,000 foods and beverages from Canadian retailers, which make up about three-quarters of the packaged food market. We found that with the proposed DV threshold, only 16 per cent of all products could be marketed to kids, and just 2 per cent of products which currently have child-directed packaging meet the threshold.
These numbers suggest our children live in a food environment saturated with advertising for unhealthy foods — as do many other studies. A 2017 report from the Heart and Stroke Foundation found that in one year, Canadian children aged 2 to 11 viewed more than 25 million food and drink ads on their favourite websites, and that 90 per cent of the time, those products were unhealthy. The same report found the average child watches two hours of TV a day and sees four to five food or drink ads per hour.
Many other countries are trying to create a healthier food environment for their children. Several countries have restricted food marketing to children in some form, including Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Hungary and South Korea, among others.
And research that links child-directed marketing to unhealthy eating habits continues to emerge. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 studies by researchers at the University of Liverpool found that TV and internet ads had a significant impact on the food intake of children, as did a meta-analysis of nine randomized controlled trials from McMaster University.
Most tellingly, the numbers show our kids are not eating well. One-third of Canadian children are overweight or obese, 70 per cent do not meet the minimum requirement for daily fruit and vegetable consumption, and one-quarter eat fast food every day.
It’s worth noting that Canada has had a voluntary, industry-led program to limit marketing to children since 2007. Called the Canadian Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, it sets moderately robust standards but has commitments from only 17 food manufacturers and one restaurant chain. Independent, peer-reviewed academic research has proven this program and similar voluntary efforts in other countries ineffectual.
In contrast, some small studies have shown Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act — which has restricted food and all marketing to children since 1980 — has had a modest but positive impact on the food environment.
It’s high time for the rest of Canada to adopt legislation that harmonizes with Quebec. Children who carry excess weight are at higher risk for a plethora of chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease, and they often face issues with self‐esteem, bullying and academic performance. We need to address this problem now to create a healthier future for all Canadians.
Until Bill S-228 takes effect, likely in 2021, parents can take steps to improve child nutrition. First, limit kids’ screen time. The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends that kids aged 2 to 5 get fewer than one hour a day, and younger kids should have none. Second, get kids involved in meal preparation and eat together as a family. A healthy food environment limits exposure to unhealthy temptations, but it also means creating a positive relationship with good food that can last a lifetime.