Webinar #1: Overview of Canadian Policy Recommendations and Areas of Alignment

26 August 2015

German study finds unhealthy progress in advertising to children

By Nathan Gray, Food Navigator

New data from Germany suggests manufacturers continue to almost exclusively advertise unhealthy products to children, despite pledges to change their ways.

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19 February 2015

WHO launches tool to help countries reduce marketing of foods with too much fat, sugar and salt to children

The World Health Organization

Across the WHO European Region, children are still regularly exposed to marketing that promotes foods and drinks high in energy, saturated fats, trans fatty acids, free sugars or salt. Despite progress in some countries, government action to restrict such marketing remains less than optimal.

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Webinar #1: Overview of Canadian Policy Recommendations and Areas of Alignment

June 2014

Municipal, provincial and federal “Marketing to Kids” (M2K) position statements (N=13) were identified in a non-comprehensive review. The positions, as well as commonalities and differences between them, were examined and analyzed. Below is a summary of areas of consensus and areas to be worked on.

CONSENSUS BETWEEN POSITION STATEMENTS

Ÿ Type of approach

-Positions agree that a legislative approach is required.

Ÿ Regulatory actors

-Positions view the Federal and Provincial Governments as the regulatory actors.

Ÿ Definitions of marketing

-Across the position statements, there was a great amount of consensus on the definitions of ‘marketing’ and ‘advertising’.

-Marketing: broad range of activities (the promotion, price, placement and placement of a product).

-Advertising: a subset of marketing and includes only promotion.

-Half of the position statements specified marketing and half specified advertising. All agree that regulations must reflect diversity and intensity of modern marketing/advertising.

Ÿ General rationale for restricting M2K

-Food and beverage marketing associated with obesity

-Children’s cognitive vulnerability.

-High Frequency of M2K in Canada and healthfulness of this marketing.

-High rates of childhood obesity (poor food intake, link with cancer, heart disease).

AREAS TO BE WORKED ON

Ÿ Various key recommendations

1) No commercial marketing to children (Quebec Model):

-Association of Local Public Health Agencies, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Ontario Public Health Association, Ontario Society of Nutrition Professionals in Public Health, Toronto Board of Health

2) No commercial food or beverage marketing to children:

-Alberta Policy Coalition, Heart and Stroke Foundation (BC &

Yukon)

3) No unhealthy food or beverage marketing:

-Canadian Medical Association, Childhood Obesity

Foundation, Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of

Canada, Hypertension Advisory Committee, Ontario

Medical Association

4) Improve self regulation:

-Dietitians of Canada

Ÿ Age recommendations

-Most (7/13) recommend for under 13 year old

-Some position statements did not specify an age.

*Note: Industry makes their advertising decisions based on two age groups: 2-11 & 12-17.

Ÿ There is a lack of consensus rooted in differences in

-Understanding of the problem

-Desired outcomes

-Viewing M2K as either an obesity or an ethics issue