Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing has been recognised by the World Health Organization as an important strategy for the prevention of obesity-related chronic disease. In 2009 the Australian food industry introduced two voluntary self-regulatory initiatives on food marketing to children. In 2010 the government committed to monitoring the impact of the self-regulatory initiatives, in response to the Australian National Preventative Health Taskforce recommendation to phase out the marketing of energy-dense nutrient-poor foods on television before 9pm. However, no formal government monitoring has been conducted.
The presentation provides a critique of the present situation in Australia including the major loopholes in the self-regulatory initiatives, illustrated by examples of advertising and unsuccessful complaints lodged through the industry framework. It also presents some recent evidence of the extent of advertising in Australia. We discuss community support for restrictions and how advocacy is being used to call for policy action on food marketing to children.
We explore developments and initiatives from other countries and the growing evidence-base on the effect of food marketing on children. We look at the options available to address the issue including through regulatory changes.