Children associate junk food with having a better time – and advertising influences them in what they want to eat, a new report out today shows.
The report by Cancer Research UK, which examined how junk food advertising can influence children’s eating habits and food choices, says that youngsters describe junk food advertising as ‘tempting’ and ‘addictive’.
Children aged between 8 and 12 years old at six schools were shown two TV adverts for junk food, and after viewing them, had a discussion about them.
Most children said they had asked their parents for items they had seen on television, particularly if they were new junk food products, flavours or vibrant designs, while many said they liked watching funny and engaging adverts. Many could also recall advertising theme tunes.
“You might be eating a piece of fruit, you might see the advert, and you might just throw it in the bin and ask your mum for money and leg it to the shop,” a year 6 boy from Northamptonshire told researchers.
A girl in primary 5 in North Lanarkshire said that watching a commercial for sweets made her feel happy and excited. “It feels like you want to try it because the guy’s dancing in it because he’s eaten it and it tastes good,” she added.
A recent survey has shown that 74% of the UK public back a ban on advertising junk food on TV before 9pm. It comes on the back of statistics that show more than one in five children in England are overweight or obese before they start primary school. This increases to one in three by the time they leave at the age of 11.
Dr Jyotsna Vohra, head of the Policy Research Centre for Cancer Prevention at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s worrying to hear that children associate junk food with having a better time and it’s evident from the discussions that advertising can influence how they eat.
“Most kids said that adverts made them feel hungry and in many cases it had a direct effect, with some children more likely to ‘plead’, ‘nag’ or ‘beg’ their parents after seeing an advert.”
Professor Neena Modi, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), said the survey demonstrated that advertising is a powerful influence upon the choices made by children.
“The UK Government’s child obesity strategy has still not been released. We urge Government to publish this without further delay and put in place effective mechanisms to implement strategies that will be effective, such as banning the advertising of junk food and sugar sweetened drinks to children,” she added.
• A survey from the Infant and Toddler Forum (ITF) reveals today that parents are feeding their toddlers too much food. Its survey of 1000 UK parents revealed that 79% give their child portions bigger than the recommended size range for pre-schoolers when serving popular meals, drinks and treats. The survey, which involved parents looking at images of portion sizes, also revealed that more than 10% usually served their child close to an adult-size portion of spaghetti bolognaise or cheese sandwiches.
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