An Evaluation of the Effect of Child‐Directed Television Food Advertising Regulation in the United Kingdom

Silva, Andres; Higgins, Lindsey M.; Hussein, Mohamud

doi:10.1111/cjag.12078

Cited by 19 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In this context, in 2007, the UK government was successful in banning the advertising of less healthy products in programs with a large audience of children, a measure that was expanded in 2009 to include all food advertising on children’s channels (28, 84). This has reduced children’s exposure to advertisements for less healthy products in the UK by over one-third in 2 years (28, 84) and has decreased per capita expenditure on sweetened beverages and high fat, sugar, and salt foods (85).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The extent, nature, and nutritional quality of foods advertised to children in Lebanon: the first study to use the WHO nutrient profile model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Nasreddine¹,

Taktouk²,

Dabbous³

et al. 2019

Food & Nutrition Research

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Objective Exposure to food marketing may influence children’s food preferences and consumption patterns and may increase the risk of childhood obesity. The WHO Office for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) has recently released a regional nutrient profile model (WHO EMR) for the purpose of regulating the marketing of food and beverages to children. This study aimed at 1) analyzing the frequency and types of food and drink advertisements during children’s viewing time in Lebanon; 2) examining the nutritional content of the advertised food products in reference to the nutrient thresholds specified by the WHO EMR model; and 3) assessing the proportion of food advertisements that included health messages. Design This study consisted of a cross-sectional content analysis of food advertisements on local TV channels, during children’s viewing time. Setting Three local Lebanese channels with the highest viewership among 4- to 14-year-olds were selected. Recorded broadcasts (September 2016 through January 2017) were analyzed between 3 pm and 10 pm on weekdays and between 8 am and 10 pm on weekend days. Results Approximately 31% of advertisements were for foods or drinks. The proportion of food advertisements was the highest during children’s programs (43%) compared to general viewing (32%) and parental guidance (29%) programs. Approximately 8 out of 10 food advertisements were for products that did not meet the standards of the WHO EMR model. Of concern was the heavy advertisement of alcoholic beverages during programs for general audiences. The majority of the advertisements that comprised a health claim were for foods that did not meet the WHO EMR’s nutritional standards (79%). Conclusions The findings of this study, which is the first to utilize the new WHO EMR profile model, should be viewed as a foundation for the development of food marketing policies aimed at reducing children’s exposure to TV food advertisements in Lebanon, a country that harbors a high burden of childhood obesity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The extent, nature, and nutritional quality of foods advertised to children in Lebanon: the first study to use the WHO nutrient profile model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Nasreddine¹,

Taktouk²,

Dabbous³

et al. 2019

Food & Nutrition Research

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“…154,155 The Chilean government introduced a marketing ban first on children-focused marketing of warning labeled foods during children's television shows and subsequently a complete ban on all marketing of those foods from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. [67][68][69] The United Kingdom plans to introduce a legislation as part of the 2021 Health and Care Bill to limit marketing of foods excessively high in fat, salt, and sugar in June 2021 156 but details on the specific policy design are pending. [157][158][159] At this time, that country has not implemented an FOP warning label that would facilitate such a ban.…”

Section: Policies To Limit Ultra-processed Foods Without Widening Disparitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nutrition transition to a stage of high obesity and noncommunicable disease prevalence dominated by ultra‐processed foods is not inevitable

2021

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The Nutrition Transition model is presented with the nature and pace of change in key stages varying by location and subpopulations. At present, all high-income and many low-and middle-income countries are in a stage of the transition where nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension are dominating adult morbidity and mortality and are very high or growing rapidly in prevalence. Some countries still have key subpopulations facing hunger and undernutrition defined by stunting or extreme thinness among adults.We call these double burden of malnutrition countries. All low-and middle-income countries face rapid growth in consumption of ultra-processed food and beverages, but it is not inevitable that these countries will reach the same high levels of consumption seen in high-income countries, with all the negative impacts of this diet on health. With great political and civil society commitment to adoption of policies shown in other countries to have improved dietary choices and social norms around foods, we can arrest and even reverse the rapid shift to diets dominated by a stage of high ultra-processed food intake and increasing prevalence of nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases.

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“…Despite the strong program logic that links exposure to HFSS TV advertising to increased HFSS consumption and obesity, establishment of the effectiveness of its restriction is challenging [ 16 ]. Real world evidence from jurisdictions that have implemented bans on HFSS advertising has shown promising results on intermediate outcomes, including a reduction in expenditure on HFSS foods following a ban on TV advertising in Quebec [ 17 ] and a reduction in HFSS drink expenditure following a move to self-regulation and co-regulation in the UK [ 18 ]. Rigorous estimation of effectiveness from an obesity prevention perspective is however complicated by the environmental-type nature of the intervention, the potential role of confounding factors and the time lag between the change in exposure and change in body mass index (BMI) being longer than many study timeframes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential Cost-Effectiveness and Equity Impacts of Restricting Television Advertising of Unhealthy Food and Beverages to Australian Children

et al. 2018

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Television (TV) advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) influences food preferences and consumption. Children from lower socioeconomic position (SEP) have higher exposure to TV advertising due to more time spent watching TV. This paper sought to estimate the cost-effectiveness of legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising until 9:30 pm, and to examine how health benefits and healthcare cost-savings differ by SEP. Cost-effectiveness modelling was undertaken (i) at the population level, and (ii) by area-level SEP. A multi-state multiple-cohort lifetable model was used to estimate obesity-related health outcomes and healthcare cost-savings over the lifetime of the 2010 Australian population. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were reported, with assumptions tested through sensitivity analyses. An intervention restricting HFSS TV advertising would cost AUD5.9M (95% UI AUD5.8M–AUD7M), resulting in modelled reductions in energy intake (mean 115 kJ/day) and body mass index (BMI) (mean 0.352 kg/m2). The intervention is likely to be cost-saving, with 1.4 times higher total cost-savings and 1.5 times higher health benefits in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic group (17,512 HALYs saved (95% UI 10,372–25,155); total cost-savings AUD126.3M (95% UI AUD58.7M–196.9M) over the lifetime) compared to the least disadvantaged socioeconomic group (11,321 HALYs saved (95% UI 6812–15,679); total cost-savings AUD90.9M (95% UI AUD44.3M–136.3M)). Legislation to restrict HFSS TV advertising is likely to be cost-effective, with greater health benefits and healthcare cost-savings for children with low SEP.

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An Evaluation of the Effect of Child‐Directed Television Food Advertising Regulation in the United Kingdom

Cited by 19 publications

References 34 publications

The extent, nature, and nutritional quality of foods advertised to children in Lebanon: the first study to use the WHO nutrient profile model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The extent, nature, and nutritional quality of foods advertised to children in Lebanon: the first study to use the WHO nutrient profile model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region

The nutrition transition to a stage of high obesity and noncommunicable disease prevalence dominated by ultra‐processed foods is not inevitable

The Potential Cost-Effectiveness and Equity Impacts of Restricting Television Advertising of Unhealthy Food and Beverages to Australian Children

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