Junk Food Marketing – Rules, Regulations and Links to Obesity
The food and advertising industries have come under fire in recent years, particularly when it comes to the subject of junk food ads. Many argue there is a link between junk food adverts and children’s health.
The frequency of junk food ads being cited as a cause for the increase in overweight or obese children.
The UK government seems to think so as it estimated in 2019 that children saw approximately 2.9 billion unhealthy foods ads and concluded this was a major contributing factor increasing childhood obesity levels, with one in three children now leaving primary school overweight or obese.
Looking For a Food Marketing Agency to Help You With Innovative Marketing Strategies and PR For Your Healthy Fast Food Business?
How Is Junk Food Marketed?
Just food is marketed using a variety of different advertising formats, from the more traditional kinds like television, radio, cinema, and billboards to modern techniques like in-store promotions, sponsorships, and the internet.
Unless you lived off the grid out in the wilderness, there is no way to escape from the barrage and bombardment on the senses of junk food advertising.
It’s not just the techniques, formats and types of advertising media that are used and their prevalence that is the problem when it comes to junk food marketing, though.
It’s the way it’s done. Junk food is often portrayed as being more fun and enticing than healthy food. Then there’s the timing of fast food advertising, especially on television.
Most of the junk food advertising on TV airs during the prime time hours, when most people are watching – during commercial breaks in soap operas, dramas, comedies, movies and live sports events.
Alarmingly though, the times in the television schedule when a lot of junk food advertising is when children are watching television.
Is Junk Food Advertising Bad?
Although a lot of people may argue that junk food advertising is not that bad, after all, there is no one holding a gun to people’s heads and telling them to eat a Burger King meal rather than a home-cooked chicken salad.
It’s all about self-control and being able to make sensible decisions about your diet.
Even if that were true, the more alarming side of junk food advertising is how it affects children and their food choices.
There has been a lot of strong, peer-reviewed studies that prove there is a definite link between the food adverts children are exposed to and the choices they make about food and how much they eat.
Junk food advertising has been shown to increase the amount of snacking children want to do and do and increase the amount of junk food they consume over healthier food.
As a response to the assertation that junk food advertising is dangerous or bad, representatives of the advertising industry often quote figures that suggest only 2% of the food choices made by children are directly related to advertising.
However, that finding was discovered in a very small study that was conducted more than 17 years ago. The truth is that the academic evidence available has moved on considerably from then.
Are There Rules Around Junk Food Advertising?
There are rules currently in place around junk food advertising. However, they are not nearly as strong or effective as they should be and are full of loopholes that advertisers can workaround.
At the moment, there are rules in place that prevent junk food from being advertised on TV, online, and in the cinema, but only applies when it is something that is considered to be directly appealing to children.
Meaning there is a whole range of media that is popular among children and adults that do not meet the criteria for restrictions.
Within these current rules, the type of television programmes during which junk food advertising is banned are those made with younger children in mind and only apply to about 26% of children’s total viewing time.
It fails to address the fact that children’s peak viewing time is between 6 and 9 pm during that prime period that is referred to as “family viewing time”.
There is strong evidence that proves children see most of the junk food advertisements they see during television shows that are considered family viewing.
From age 4 to 15, children enjoy entertainment programmes and soaps the most.
Obesity Health Alliance studied the number of high in fat, sugar and salt food advertisements viewed by children in 2017 during their favourite television shows between 6 and 9 pm.
They discovered that most food and drinks advertised during these shows were HFSS and they also found that children can easily see as many as nine different HFSS advertisements during a single 30-minute long television programme.
The good news is that new rules are being introduced. From 2023, HFSS foods and drinks advertising will be banned on television before the 9 pm watershed.
There will also be an online ad ban on all paid-for types of digital marketing, such as Facebook ads to paid-for Google search results ads and any paid activity from Twitter, Instagram, and other social media influencers.
Is There a Link Between Junk Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity?
Although the advertising industry would suggest that any suggestion there is a link between junk food advertising and childhood obesity is just scaremongering, the evidence and statistics tell a different story.
For example, as noted earlier, junk food advertising can increase how much snacking children do and the amount of unhealthy food they want to eat and physically eat.
Even with the current rules and restrictions in place, child obesity levels have not decreased.
Part of the problem is the fact that children are incredibly vulnerable and impressionable.
They are unable to recognise the real intent of advertising and do not have the nutritional knowledge necessary to understand that junk food is junk. They are also motivated by instant gratification more than by avoiding long-term consequences.
What Is an Example of Junk Food?
While most reading this probably have a good handle on what junk food is, as there are many grey areas and unhealthy food and snacks promoted as being healthy products, it may be worth highlighting what we mean by junk food.
Generally speaking, food that is considered to be junk food is those that fall into the HFSS category, that is those that are high in fat, sugar, and salt.
This includes everything from salted snacks like crisps to sugary sweet cakes, desserts, candy and chocolate, alongside sugary carbonated drinks, and fried fast food.
The grey areas you need to be more keenly aware of is with food like tacos, pizza, and hamburgers, which can be considered both healthy or unhealthy, depending on the ingredients that are used to make them and how they are prepared.
Summary
Will the new rules that are due to be implemented in 2023 with regards to the unhealthy food ads 9pm watershed make a difference? Only time will tell. However, there is no denying that something needs to be done.
The interesting thing is that many companies argue that their profits will be affected by this change in advertising watershed and there are also arguments from broadcasters that suggest their ability to produce quality programming would be affected by it.
However, Ofcom, back in 2010 asked all broadcasters to provide their advertising revenue data so the organisation could analyse any negative impact caused by the current restrictions.
However, broadcasters failed to provide that information back then and have not provided anything new concerning the 9 pm watershed with regards to revenue or product development.
Looking For a Food Marketing Agency to Help You With Innovative Marketing Strategies and PR For Your Healthy Fast Food Business?
References:
http://obesityhealthalliance.org.uk/2018/06/20/six-facts-junk-food-marketing/