Companies 'exploit' junk food loopholes
January 1, 2007
Junk food manufacturers regularly exploit television standards to advertise sugary and fatty products direct to children, a new study has found.
Dieticians and obesity experts have called for laws governing marketing to children to be tightened in light of findings published in the latest Medical Journal of Australia.
The University of Sydney team investigated breaches and exploitations of a Children's Television Standards (CTS) code which rules that an ad can be screened no more than twice in a 30-minute period during children's viewing times.
Examining advertisements on three commercial TV channels during one week in May, researchers counted 14 breaches of the rule.
Eighty per cent were for high fat and/or sugar foods.
"While the number of breaches represents a small proportion of total advertisements, it is important to remember that these data correspond to only one CTS clause in one week of television broadcasting," wrote lead author Bridget Kelly.
They also found advertisers exploited loopholes in the clause 26 times during the period.
For example, an ad for a chocolate breakfast cereal was screened 12 times in three hours - twice every consecutive 30-minute period.
In another case, a confectionery company advertised four different chocolate bars in half an hour.
"Although not outright breaches, these instances illustrate that there are loopholes in the CTS that allow constant repetition of advertisements to children," Ms Kelly wrote.
"Although the letter of the code may not be contravened in these cases, the essence of the code certainly is."
In their letter to the editor, Ms Kelly and colleague Josephine Chau, from the NSW Centre for Physical Activity and Health, say Australia has one of the highest levels of food advertising on television in the developed world.
"There is a highly plausible link between television food advertising and overweight and obesity," they wrote.
The pair called for an urgent amendment of the codes, overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, saying they lack precise definitions and allow for subjective interpretation.
"There is a need to improve the clarity of the code, to actively monitor advertisements, to adopt clear procedures for complaints and investigation of alleged breaches, and to impose penalties for confirmed breaches," they say.
Pressure for a total ban on junk food advertising directed at children has gained momentum in the past year as state governments joined obesity experts to support the move.
But the federal government has resisted change, with Health Minister Tony Abbott saying the voluntary code was adequate.
Childhood Obesity
Linear Mode
