New Regulations Failed to Curb Kids’ Exposure to Junk Food Ads

Children’s exposure to junk food ads remained unchanged despite new regulations.

Children’s exposure to junk food ads on television has remained unchanged despite the fast food industry's new rules about marketing products to children, according to new research in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Researchers, led by Dietitian Lana Hebden of the University of Sydney, analysed all TV ads broadcast during a four-day sample period, in both May 2009 and April 2010.

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The Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry (QSRI) Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children is a self-regulatory initiative which began in August 2009, and has several signatories that include McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut.

The study, which compared a period before (May 2009) and after (April 2010) the introduction of the QSRI initiative, found that the mean frequency of fast food ads significantly increased over the study period, from 1.1 per hour in 2009 to 1.5 per hour in 2010.

The frequency of ads for unhealthy fast foods remained unchanged (1.0/hr) overall, and during kids’ peak viewing times (1.3/hr).

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The authors called for greater government regulation of fast food advertising, particularly as research shows that kids’ exposure to these ads negatively influences their food intake.

“The limited impact of self-regulation suggests that governments should define the policy framework for regulating fast-food advertising,” they wrote.

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The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.

Source-MJA

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