New study
Children watch 15 unhealthy snack commercials a day
Hm, that looks delicious! But it's probably unhealthy …
© Tatyana Korotun / Shutterstock
Children are increasingly bombarded with advertisements for fast food, snacks and sweets. Scientists are therefore calling for child marketing to be banned again.
Funny animal biscuits, colorful cartoon characters on sugar-coated cereals, "whimsy goods" at the supermarket checkout: the food industry goes to great lengths to turn children into customers. Fast-food vendors lure with toys, and even school parties are sponsored by confectionery companies.
A study by the University of Hamburg has now found that children are increasingly confronted with unhealthy snacks in the media: a child in Germany sees an average of 15 commercials for fattening people every day – two thirds of them on television, the rest on the Internet. Among other things, this is due to the fact that the number of TV spots per hour has increased by 29 percent over the past 14 years.
Experts call for a ban on advertising
In view of these numbers, an alliance of scientists, paediatricians and the AOK is calling for a ban on child marketing for unhealthy products in the media – as is already the case in Sweden or Norway. Because, as usual, a voluntary commitment on the part of the manufacturers is ineffective: in 2007, the largest food companies agreed to no longer operate targeted marketing for children for unhealthy foods. "We will change our food advertising to children" was the promise of the "EU Pledge".
Since then, the companies have even "consciously increased" the advertising pressure on children, complains Sigrid Peter, deputy chairwoman of the professional association of paediatricians (BVJK). 70 percent of the unhealthy TV spots were aimed specifically at children. "We see the harmful health consequences of this every day in our practices. We finally have to address the causes of obesity in children – and advertising is an important factor in this," said the doctor.
The consequences are serious: According to the WHO, one in five young people in Germany is too fat.
On the Internet, the children are mainly reached through Facebook with advertising for unhealthy products. From there, the companies attract children specifically to their websites, where they are kept for as long as possible with the help of games and competitions. On YouTube, advertising is primarily carried out by influencers.
Advertising more powerful than the example of the parents
"Our children are encouraged by the industry to eat more sugar, salt and fat more than 15 times a day," criticizes Professor Hans Hauner, Chairman of the German Diabetes Foundation (DDS). He emphasizes:
This destroys all efforts to be taught a healthy diet and must no longer be tolerated.
Advertising activities in digital media are increasing rapidly and are particularly effective. It was possible to prove that the advertising could even be more powerful than the example of the parents.
The study: The study by the University of Hamburg analyzed the advertising contacts of children aged 3 to 13 between March 2019 and February 2020. The health assessment of the products was based on the "Nutrition Profile Model" of the World Health Organization (WHO). The study was funded by the German Noncommunicable Diseases Alliance (DANK), the AOK Federal Association and six medical societies and organizations.
Tip: Tips and brochures on obesity in children are available at www.uebergewicht-vorbeugen.de
Sources: German Alliance for Noncommunicable Diseases (DANK), Ärzteblatt, Foodwatch, University of Hamburg