Australian Medical Association calls for ban on junk food ads aimed at kids

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJun 28 2011

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the federal government to ban fast food ads to help solve the problem of childhood obesity in Australia.

The association made its proposal after new research published in the Medical Journal of Australia found that the frequency of fast food ads remained unchanged despite the fast food industry's new rules about marketing to children. The study revealed that ads targeted during children's peak viewing times actually increased from 1.1 ads an hour to 1.5 an hour. Ads for alternative healthy foods also rose to 0.3 an hour from zero ads per hour.

According to president of the AMA, Professor Geoffrey Dobb junk food ads should be banned and called on greater government regulation to cover the failure of industry self-regulation. He said, “Childhood obesity is a major health problem in the community and glossy advertising, especially in peak children's television viewing times, is a major contributor to unhealthy junk food choices.”

For the study the researchers from the University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW analyzed all TV ads broadcast in Sydney over four days before May 2009 and after April 2010 when the code was introduced. Professor Dobb said that the junk food ads were continuing to influence children. “Food companies continue to use this form of advertising because they know it works,” he said.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council disagreed with the AMA findings. The council which is responsible for the initiative said self-regulation was working. CEO Kate Carnell responded to the AMA proposal by saying that the initiative was in place to change the content in ads not to reduce the frequency of such ads. Since the regulation took effect advertisers had avoided placing content aimed at children like toys, cartoons and other themes.

She said, “The code is not about frequency. It's about content of the ad. The problem with this bit of research is that it doesn't differentiate between the two ... the code is working.” Ms. Carnell added that banning such ads would be ineffective in addressing the problem of childhood obesity. “There's no evidence anywhere that bans on advertising actually make any difference to obesity. There's a couple of places around the world - Quebec and Sweden - where ... they've had those bans in place for 20 years and levels of childhood obesity are the same as everyone else,” she explained.

Cancer Council nutritionist Kathy Chapman also felt self-regulation is not working. “What we need to see is a much more effective code with clear regulations about when will be the times when children will have their reduction of fast food advertising reduced and exactly which are the foods that can and can't be advertised,” she said. The Federal Government says it is continuing to monitor the effectiveness of voluntary codes.

Seven fast-food chains including McDonald's, Pizza Hut and KFC signed up to the voluntary code, which set new nutrition standards for foods aimed at under-14s. The code, the Australian Quick Service Restaurant Industry Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children (QSRI), specifies that fast-food companies should “ensure that only food and beverages that represent healthier choices are promoted directly to children”.