Kaye Mehta

Parental awareness and attitudes about food advertising to children on Australian television

Objective: To assess parents’ concern regarding television food advertising to children and the marketing methods used, their awareness of existing regulations and support for strengthening restrictions, and to determine whether these factors differ across sociodemographic groups.

Australian children's views about food advertising on television.

This study explored childrens views about food advertising on television in the light of recent public interest in childhood obesity and obesogenic environments. Thirty-seven children aged between 8 and 11 years, discussed their perceptions of food advertising, in focus groups. The children engaged as consumers of advertising, noticing technical aspects, and expressing their likes and dislikes of particular techniques. While they understood the persuasive intent of advertising, they nevertheless desired products and made purchase requests. They particularly desired energy-dense nutrient-poor foods. The children demonstrated sophisticated levels of advertising literacy through their articulation of problems such as deception, impacts on childrens health and wellbeing, and family conflict. They revealed themselves as sentient beings, with the capacity to react, respond and reflect on their experience of advertising. This study makes a contribution to research on consumer socialisation by introducing the perspective of Australian children. As stakeholders in the childhood obesity problem, the views of children should also be of interest to health policymakers.

When two sides go to war : Newspaper reporting of 'television food advertising restrictions' as a solution to childhood obesity

Childhood overweight and obesity is a major public health problem in Australia and overseas. Food advertising during childrens television programmes has been identified as one contributing factor to childhood obesity. The media plays an important role in informing the public and presenting arguments supporting and opposing solutions to childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to analyse newspaper coverage of the debate over restricting television food advertising as a solution to preventing childhood obesity. A newspaper search was conducted over the period July 2002 to July 2005. One hundred and sixty-six articles were analysed for article characteristics, speakers quoted, causes and solutions of childhood obesity and arguments presented. The majority of the articles (82, 49%) took a positive slant towards restricting television food advertising to children while 35 (21%) had a negative slant. The main causes of childhood obesity presented were: television advertising of unhealthy foods, lack of physical activity, increased screen time and time stretched parents. The main areas presented as solutions of childhood obesity were: policy changes to food advertising, supportive environments for physical activity, supportive environments for healthy eating and healthy eating policies. Strong arguments and strong language dominated the debate which remained polarised between health professionals and Federal government and industry. In spite of opposition towards restrictions on television food advertising to children, the medias stories played an important part in keeping the issue on the public and political agenda.

A survey of the reformulation of Australian child-oriented food products

BackgroundChildhood obesity is one of the most pressing public health challenges of the 21st century. Reformulating commonly eaten food products is a key emerging strategy to improve the food supply and help address rising rates of obesity and chronic disease. This study aimed to monitor reformulation of Australian child-oriented food products (products marketed specifically to children) from 2009–2011.MethodsIn 2009, all child-oriented food products in a large supermarket in metropolitan Adelaide were identified. These baseline products were followed up in 2011 to identify products still available for sale. Nutrient content data were collected from Nutrient Information Panels in 2009 and 2011. Absolute and percentage change in nutrient content were calculated for energy, total fat, saturated fat, sugars, sodium and fibre. Data were descriptively analysed to examine reformulation in individual products, in key nutrients, within product categories and across all products. Two methods were used to assess the extent of reformulation; the first involved assessing percentage change in single nutrients over time, while the second involved a set of nutrient criteria to assess changes in overall healthiness of products over time.ResultsOf 120 products, 40 remained unchanged in nutrient composition from 2009–2011 and 80 underwent change. The proportions of positively and negatively reformulated products were similar for most nutrients surveyed, with the exception of sodium. Eighteen products (15%) were simultaneously positively and negatively reformulated for different nutrients. Using percentage change in nutrient content to assess extent of reformulation, nearly half (n = 53) of all products were at least moderately reformulated and just over one third (n = 42) were substantially reformulated. The nutrient criteria method revealed 5 products (6%) that were positively reformulated and none that had undergone negative reformulation.ConclusionPositive and negative reformulation was observed to a similar extent within the sample indicating little overall improvement in healthiness of the child-oriented food supply from 2009–2011. In the absence of agreed reformulation standards, the extent of reformulation was assessed against criteria developed specifically for this project. While arbitrary in nature, these criteria were based on reasonable assessment of the meaningfulness of reformulation and change in nutrient composition. As well as highlighting nutrient composition changes in a number of food products directed to children, this study emphasises the need to develop comprehensive, targeted and standardised reformulation benchmarks to assess the extent of reformulation occurring in the food supply.

A Children’s Rights Perspective on Food Advertising to Children

This article applies the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to the regulation of food advertising for the prevention of childhood obesity, evaluating the advertising regulation in six jurisdictions against the principles of the Convention. It finds that the Convention would support strict regulation of food advertising for the prevention of childhood obesity; and in particular that such regulation would be appropriate to the model of co-operation between the state and parents that the Convention posits. The article also raises the question whether the grooming of children as consumers through advertising might be a form of economic exploitation.

Statutory restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children: the debate continues

The proposition for restricting marketing of unhealthy foods to children is currently being debated in many countries around the world. As the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity increases globally, food marketing, which predominantly promotes unhealthy products, has come under increasing scrutiny for its contribution to an obesogenic environment for children. Consequently, public health groups are increasingly calling on governments to restrict the marketing of unhealthy foods to children in order to reduce children’s exposure and the food industry’s influence on their dietary choices. To reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity at the population level, public health approaches, such as policy, fiscal and legislative measures, offer more powerful and effective tools than behavioural and clinical strategies. Tobacco control provides a good example of a public health strategy being more effective than individual approaches at reducing smoking rates. While obesity is not identical to smoking, it does share similarities, by way of big business promoting unhealthy products to consumers. Calls for statutory restrictions to the marketing of unhealthy foods to children represent a structuralist discourse on health, whereby interventions target the markets that promote unhealthy products. This contrasts with the dominant individualist discourse, which places responsibility for change on the consumer – to exercise self-restraint and make the ‘right’ food choices in an environment that promotes consumption of energy-dense foods. The individualist discourse is consistent with neoliberal ideologies that nurture the operations of markets and favour individual responsibility for choices over government interventions to create supportive environments for healthy choices.

Perceived barriers and facilitators to participation in physical activity during the school lunch break for girls aged 12–13 years

Given the short- and long-term health implications associated with overweight and obesity plus the likelihood of overweight or obesity to continue into adulthood, addressing the causes of overweight and obesity in childhood is a significant public health concern. One underlying cause of overweight and obesity is insufficient physical activity. The Department of Health and Aging recommends children engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day; however, these recommendations are met less frequently with increasing age, and girls less often meet these recommendations than boys. School lunch times have been identified as an ideal time for maximizing children’s physical activity (PA), but studies have shown variable levels of PA among children during this time and research indicates that during school lunch times, girls are consistently less active than boys. Understanding influences on girls’ participation in PA during this time may help to increase levels of PA for this demographic. Two South Australian schools, one government and one independent, were included in the sample. Four focus groups (three or four participants per group: total 13 participants) focusing on girls’ perceptions of PA during the lunch break were conducted. Transcripts and field notes were analyzed using a social constructionist framework and thematic content analysis. The expectation to participate in activities considered “gender appropriate”, maturation, and bullying/teasing were identified as explicit barriers to participation in lunch time play. Other important barriers included a “girls’” school uniform and feelings of inadequate competency. The ability to renegotiate gender stereotypes, a unisex school uniform, and perceived high competency were important facilitators of lunch time PA. Low levels of lunch time PA evident in many young adolescent girls may be due to many complex social factors. Therefore, these barriers may need to be addressed before any environmental interventions are likely to be effective.

Eating occasions and the contribution of foods to sodium and potassium intakes in adults

OBJECTIVE To examine dietary Na and K intake at eating occasions in Australian adults and identify the contribution of major food sources to Na and K at different eating occasions. DESIGN Secondary analysis of 24 h recall diet data from the Australian Health Survey (2011-2013). SETTING Nationally representative survey in Australia. SUBJECTS Male and female Australians aged 18-84 years (n 7818). RESULTS Dinner contributed the greatest proportion to total daily Na intake (33 %) and K intake (35 %). Na density was highest at lunch (380 mg/MJ) and K density highest at between-meal time eating occasions (401 mg/MJ). Between-meal time eating occasions provided 20 % of daily Na intake and 26 % of daily K intake. The major food group sources of Na were different at meal times (breads and mixed dishes) compared with between-meal times (cakes, muffins, scones, cake-type desserts). The top food group sources of K at meal times were potatoes and unprocessed meat products and dishes. CONCLUSIONS Foods which contributed to Na and K intake differed according to eating occasion. Major food sources of Na were bread and processed foods. Major food sources of K were potatoes and meat products and dishes. Public health messages that emphasise meal-based advice and diet patterns high in vegetables, fruits and unprocessed foods may also aid reduction in dietary Na intake and increase in dietary K intake.

Characteristics of Effective Interventions Promoting Healthy Eating for Pre-Schoolers in Childcare Settings: An Umbrella Review

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) settings have a pivotal role in shaping children’s dietary food habits by providing the contextual environment within which they develop these behaviours. This study examines systematic reviews for (1) the effectiveness of interventions to promote healthy eating in children aged 2–5 years attending centre-based childcare; (2) intervention characteristics which are associated with promoting healthy eating and; (3) recommendations for child-health policies and practices. An Umbrella review of systematic reviews was undertaken using a standardized search strategy in ten databases. Twelve systematic reviews were examined using validated critical appraisal and data extraction tools. Children’s dietary food intake and food choices were significantly influenced. Interventions to prevent obesity did not significantly change children’s anthropometric measures or had mixed results. Evidence was more convincing if interventions were multi-component, addressed physical activity and diet, targeted individual-level and environmental-level determinants and engaged parents. Positive outcomes were mostly facilitated by researchers/external experts and these results were not replicated when implemented in centres by ECEC providers without this support. The translation of expert-led interventions into practice warrants further exploration of implementation drivers and barriers. Based on the evidence reviewed, recommendations are made to inform child-health directed practices and policies.

Engaging South Australian local governments in the development of healthy eating policies

Issue addressed Local governments are uniquely placed to influence the food environment of their communities through healthy eating policies (HEPs) but very few have done so. Methods Using a community-based participatory approach, Healthy Eating Local Policies and Programs built the capacity of South Australian local governments to develop and implement a HEP by leading the development of a HEP framework then mentoring local governments to develop their own local policy tailored to their community. Results Over a 2-year period, 31 of the 68 local governments worked towards developing a HEP, with 14 receiving endorsement by December 2013. Conclusions Local governments are ready to model healthy eating practices and adopt healthy eating policy that supports the health of their communities. A HEP developed using a participatory approach and with the flexibility to be tailored to local preferences and demographics appears feasible, although the process may be lengthy. This process and outcome appears applicable and transferable to other local governments. So what? As local governments take up their responsibilities in promoting health and wellbeing, HEPs provide important structural mechanisms to enable councils to facilitate healthy eating in their local communities.