“Government must curb child marketing” | Inland

If cartoon characters, cartoon heroes or child influencers are on the packaging of a food, that product often becomes twice as attractive to children. Children are also often confronted with such forms of child marketing during advertising on TV, at sporting events or in social media advertisements and in games.

“Unfortunately, it often concerns products that are unhealthy and that negatively affect the eating habits of children,” says Healthy Living. “That is why the SHC has just issued an advice that requires the Belgian authorities to tackle food advertising aimed at children.” According to Healthy Living, the government must convert that advice into binding rules that are also legally enforceable.

“The food industry is currently regulating itself, but it falls short,” says Jolien Plaete, expert Healthy Nutrition at the Flemish Institute for Healthy Living and involved in the working group that drew up the advice of the SHC. “They themselves determine the criteria that determine whether for a food to be advertised or not. And those criteria are less strict than those of, for example, the World Health Organization.”

“The SHC also concludes that these self-regulation techniques are insufficient to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing,” the expert continues. “That is why they advise, among other things, to use the independent WHO dietary guidelines to determine which unhealthy foods should be banned from marketing to children.”

The Flemish Institute for Healthy Living joins the SHC and also insists on government regulation. “The federal government should, on the basis of the advice of the SHC, together with a group of experts, establish criteria that can be further applied at regional and local level. It is also the government that should be able to determine and apply sanctions if the proposed rules are being broken, which also requires regular monitoring.”

“By the way, a ban on advertising for children in the food sector is not only necessary to combat overweight in children, it is also an effective measure to reduce health inequalities. Vulnerable groups are after all more sensitive to food marketing,” says Jolien Plaete.

It is true that the regulations surrounding children’s marketing are only one important strategy to help children and young people make healthy food choices. “Other actions are also needed, such as healthy food and drink options in schools, fiscal measures to promote healthy food and a labeling policy.”