Junk food still marketed to children as companies bypass rules !

Food companies are accused on Tuesday by the World Health Organisation, the public health arm of the UN, of finding ways to bypass the rules on advertising unhealthy products to children and fuelling the obesity epidemic. Attempts by the authorities in Britain to clamp down on marketing to children through television advertising are not enough to protect them, a major report by the WHO says. There are tough rules on advertising during children's TV programmes but not on shows such as ITV1's Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor, which research shows are widely watched by younger viewers.

Increasingly, food companies are also targeting children through computer games, mobile phones and social networks such as Facebook. The WHO report calls for tighter regulation across the whole of Europe of the marketing to children of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

"Millions of children across the region are being subjected to unacceptable marketing practices," said Zsuzsanna Jakab, regional director of WHO Europe. "Policy simply must catch up and address the reality of an obese childhood in the 21st century.

"Children are surrounded by adverts urging them to consume high fat, high sugar, high salt foods, even when they are in places where they should be protected, such as schools and sports facilities."

Britain has done more than some other European countries to guard children against advertising for unhealthy food, snacks and sweets, says the report, but it is not one of the six countries – Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden – that have fully implemented a European code on restricting marketing to children. There are, says the report, gaps and weaknesses in the UK regulations.

More on this story here. 

Eddie