Should food advertising for children be banned?

Abstract

For adults and children, food is often a cause of conflict. Children refuse to eat certain foods, and feel more in control. Meanwhile, parents and teachers dream up ingenious ways of persuading children to try new foods and to finish up their vegetables.

Internet food marketing on popular children’s websites and food product websites in Australia

“…Previous research on food marketing to children has focused predominantly on television advertising (7) ; however the use of non-broadcast media is becoming more common, with children now exposed to a high volume of messages from increasingly sophisticated and integrated marketing techniques (8) . The integration of commercial messages into all aspects of children's environments normalises promoted foods to children (9) .…”