Dr. Tom Warshawski and Manuel Arango are co-chairs of the Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

On Nov. 12, 2015, newly minted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote a mandate letter to his new minister of health, Jane Philpott, outlining what he expected her to achieve.

The second of the many priorities he listed was, in part, “introducing new restrictions on the commercial marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children, similar to those now in place in Quebec.”

That was not achieved by that health minister, nor was it achieved by the following three federal health ministers who came and went. We now urgently need the current Health Minister, Mark Holland, to get the green light to move ahead. This issue has been committed to in four health-minister mandate letters, in the 2019 federal budget, and in the 2015 and 2021 Liberal election platforms. We believe there is parliamentary support to achieve this. Canadians also support it, with nearly seven in 10 in favour of restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to kids, a new poll from Pollara Strategic Insights (on behalf of the Heart and Stroke Foundation) found.

If long-promised regulations to limit the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children in Canada are not presented before the end of June (when the House rests for the summer), there is a very real risk they will not be enacted before the coming federal election, which is next year (if not before). This seemingly high-priority item on the mandate letter could remain unfulfilled for many more years to come.

We’ve been down this pre-election road before. In 2019, federal legislation to restrict the marketing of food and beverages was awaiting Senate approval. It was already being delayed by food and beverage industry lobbyists when the federal election was called that year, which meant the industry was successful in having the legislation killed. We’ve been waiting for its revival ever since, and the industry is still working to try to delay it.

Meanwhile, children who were aged 6 or 7 when the commitment was made in 2015 have endured nine years of unrelenting exposure to junk-food marketing during their most influential years. For many, this advertising will have already played a big role in setting some bad dietary habits for life, and the negative health consequences that result.

Others who were teenagers back in the summer of 2015 are now in their 20s, and some may already have children of their own. Without prompt government action, parents with young kids will continue to face the challenges of seeing their children deluged with the same marketing for unhealthy food and beverages that they experienced.

The concept is simple: enact federal rules that limit the marketing of junk food to impressionable youngsters. This marketing has many traditional facets, from ads on television to enticing outdoor billboards, to in-store and restaurant displays. But now, there is an even greater onslaught of ads on social media under the guise of fun videos, games and contests, often using lovable, fun and seemingly harmless cartoon characters and other tactics to target children. They all have one real purpose – to get our kids hooked on foods high in sugar, salt and saturated fat, or all three.

This marketing exists because it works – driving our kids to pester their parents into buying the unhealthy items that are made so attractive to them, or even spending whatever little money they have of their own. Ultraprocessed foods, which are the bulk of products marketed to children, make up 60 per cent of the diets of Canadian children aged nine to 13. According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, “Diets high in ultraprocessed foods, including sugary drinks, are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, cancers, tooth decay and mortality later in life. In 2019 alone, dietary risk factors contributed to 36,000 deaths in Canada.”

The Prime Minister has made good progress on the other elements of his Healthy Eating Strategy, including updating Canada’s Food Guide, front-of-package nutrition labelling, the banning of trans fats in all foods sold in Canada, and the newly announced $1-billion national school nutrition program. But the centrepiece of the plan – restrictions for marketing to children – remains incomplete. We’re asking Mr. Trudeau to not renege on his good promise from nine years ago, and to protect children from becoming the targets of manipulative junk-food marketing.

The federal government must stay the course and finally fulfill its promise to stop junk-food marketers from targeting children and must release draft regulations before the end of June. They must not let the influential junk-food lobby block them yet again from doing the right thing for our kids.

We’ve waited far too long and can’t afford to wait for another generation to grow up without such action.

Read on The Globe & Mail.

The post Opinion: Justin Trudeau promised to stop junk food companies from marketing to kids – but that was nine years ago appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

Opinion: My thesis is on food marketing to kids and every time we go to a grocery store together, I see that colourful, cartoon-heavy marketing at work

My five-year-old daughter is helping me with my PhD thesis. I wish she didn’t have to.

No, she’s not a prodigy — even if she is very clever — and I’m not that desperate for assistance. She just happens to be a subject matter expert.

My thesis in nutrition is on food marketing to kids and every time we go to a grocery store together, I see that marketing at work. She is drawn like a magnet to the colourful, cartoon-heavy packages of appealing treats — almost all of them laden with saturated fat, sugar and/or salt and minimal nutritional value. Read more.

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The post It’s not “GR-R-REAT!” news for children’s health as Prime Minister’s promise to stop junk food marketers from targeting kids falters appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

The post Federal Budget 2024 hits the spot with $1-billion for national school food program appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

Marketing of unhealthy foods to children on digital media significantly impacts their dietary preferences and contributes to diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Canadian children spend a significant amount of time on digital devices and are frequently exposed to unhealthy food marketing on social media, including by influencers with celebrity status who endorse products. This study aimed to examine the frequency, healthfulness, and power of unhealthy food marketing in posts by influencers popular with Canadian children on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Read more

The post #junkfluenced: the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages by social media influencers popular with Canadian children on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

General Mills warns of ‘food shaming’; dietitian influencers promote junk foods and discourage weight loss efforts. Read more.

The post As obesity rises, Big Food and dietitians push ‘anti-diet’ advice appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

The post Eat, think and be merry: A national school nutrition program will help kids thrive appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

Every generation deserves a fair, healthy future – from kids, to parents, to grandparents. It’s why we’re supporting families, one of the many things that we are doing in Budget 2024 to build an economy that helps every generation get ahead. Read more.

The post A National School Food Program to set kids up for success appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

Canada should ban marketing of unhealthy foods wherever children may be exposed, whether on TV, social media or billboards. This is one of the main conclusions of a Canada-wide study involving more than fifty food and nutrition experts made public today by a team from Université Laval’s Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences. Read more.

The post Canada should ban all unhealthy food marketing children may be exposed to appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.

Read more.

The post Scientists tricked our brains into craving ultraprocessed foods – and now people are fighting back appeared first on Stop Marketing to Kids Coalition.