Ads blamed for weight problems & family arguments

Ads blamed for weight problems

Posted: 09 February 2007

Source:  Sydney Morning Herald, February 7, 2007.

PARENTS believe there are too many junk food advertisements on television and that regulations governing them are too weak, an in-depth study into the perceived power of television food advertising in the home has shown.

They are blaming family arguments about food and a rise in their children's weight on television advertising, according to the study to be published today in Nutrition & Dietetics.

The study also identified toys given away with meals, such as those in McDonald's Happy Meals, as a powerful marketing tool. Parents also linked television ads to pester power - when children nag parents to buy particular products, according to the paper by academics from the department of nutrition at Flinders University of South Australia.

Author Kaye Mehta, a lecturer and head of the Coalition on Food Advertising to Children, said: "They felt their children were being directly influenced by what they saw on TV. The children were making requests for the products that were being advertised."

She also said parents were unaware of the rules and were "incredulous" that they were routinely flouted.

The paper also noted the lengths parents went to to avoid being nagged, such as switching to the ABC, turning off the television, requiring children to use their pocket money to buy soft drinks and fast food and avoiding taking them shopping.

The academics interviewed 24 mothers and eight fathers of children aged five to 11 in 2004.

Up until now most studies have concentrated on the perceived impact of advertisements on children's health.

The authors said that although the sample was not big enough to be statistically significant, the discussions raised important issues in light of the media regulator's review of the guidelines.

The advertising industry-funded body, The Foundation for Advertising Research, acknowledged the research was "useful" because parents' views were an under-researched area but added there were "limitations".

Its director, Glen Wiggs, said there was no proven link between advertising and childhood obesity but research showed advertising did affect food choice.

"When it comes to whether advertising encourages people to eat more there's little evidence to support this proposition and neither does this research," he said.