New campaign launched to restrict junk food marketing directed at children

A groundbreaking campaign enlisting public support to force action restricting relentless junk food marketing directed at children, particularly on social media, is being launched today.

The Stop Targeting Kids campaign is seeking to sign up 30,000 supporters to back its call for Government intervention to protect children's health through strict controls, particularly on digital marketing, which Irish Heart say remains unregulated in spite of clear evidence of its powerful influence over children's food choices. The new campaign is based around the use of fake sweet, crisps and cola brands to expose the unscrupulous tactics used by junk food and drinks companies to influence children and the inappropriate proximity their brands have to young people, mostly without the knowledge of parents. Junk brands are typically pre-prepared, packaged or convenience foods that are high in calories but of low nutritional value. These products are usually high in fat, salt or sugar and low in fibre, vitamins and minerals. The five most heavily marketed categories of foods to children are sugary cereals, soft drinks, confectionary, savoury snacks and fast food outlets. These treats are laden with sugar, salt and fat – 30g of chocolate-covered cereal has three teaspoons of sugar, 500ml of fizzy orange has 16 teaspoons of sugar and a typical 31g chocolate bar has 7.5 teaspoons of sugar. Meanwhile a 20g bag of crisps has 0.5g of salt and a kids cheeseburger has almost 2 teaspoons of saturated fat. Typically children aged 4-6 years should have no more than 5 teaspoons of sugar, 3g of salt and 4 teaspoons of saturated fat. For older children up to 11 years, no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar, 5g of salt and 4 teaspoons of saturated fat is recommended. Head of advocacy for Irish Heart, Chris Macey, says the purpose of the campaign is to show parents how multinational junk brands can follow their children wherever they go – in school, at home and even in their bedrooms through their smart phones,

"It's almost like your child has their own individual marketer following them around. They get onto children's newsfeeds and interact like real friends. But all these marketers really want to do is encourage children to consume as much junk as possible, regardless of the impact on their health. These often hidden tactics are almost impossible for parents to see which is a key impetus for this campaign."

The charity say that loopholes should be closed in existing TV regulations, particularly increasing the timing of the advert ban up to the 9pm watershed. Macey says the need for this is highlighted by the fact that despite the current ban up to 6pm, children still see an average of over 1,000 advertisements for unhealthy food and drinks on television alone each year,

"There's conclusive proof of a causal link between junk food marketing to children and childhood obesity. That's why it was partially regulated on broadcast media four years ago. But there's no regulation of digital marketing that's more personalised, targeted and therefore potentially far more damaging.  That's not good enough. We now have children as young as eight with high blood pressure and young people showing early signs of heart disease mainly seen in middle-age. We believe the Government is failing in its duty of care to protect children from the damage that junk brand advertising is having on their health and we are seeking the public’s support to force stronger action by signing our petition."

Dietitian Janis Morrissey says that one in four children in Ireland is overweight or obese,

"It is a daily struggle and a minefield for parents trying to navigate an environment with widespread availability and constant marketing of cheap and convenient foods. It is really worrying to think that 7 to 16 year olds are spending about three hours a day online, vulnerable to slick marketing that's pushing foods and drinks that are causing obesity. Multinationals say treats are for eating in moderation and we are calling for that same moderation to apply to their marketing tactics so they stop targeting kids. We owe it to children to step in because it is not okay for multinational companies to seek them out and follow their lives in order to push high sugar, high fat or high salt foods. I strongly urge parents who share our concern to sign the petition."

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