Researchers investigated the regulatory environment for advertising HFSS food and non-alcoholic beverages in India. They found that there are important gaps that need to be addressed to protect children from HFSS marketing.
“To protect children from the marketing of HFSS foods, we need a strong regulatory framework with clear evidence-based food classification criteria, not just those that are ‘directed’ at children.”researchers said: Lancet Community Health – Southeast Asia.
“Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to HFSS food marketing because they lack the cognitive ability to discern commercial intent.”
As India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, we have a legal obligation to ensure every child's right to health. However, academics say there are worrying trends that suggest India needs to develop a stronger regulatory framework to protect children from the marketing of HFSS foods.
The average Indian household consumes more calories from processed foods than from fruits.
And researchers argue that the marketing of HFSS foods is particularly detrimental to young children's consumption patterns, leading to increased lifetime risks of weight gain, overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases.
Moreover, with the advent of technology, children have become addicted to social networking sites and exposed to HFSS advertisements.
Therefore, to examine the effectiveness of India's policy to protect children from HFSS advertisements, researchers investigated all possible media avenues available for marketing, including television, radio, internet, billboards, etc. . We also conducted a Google search between February and July 2022 and identified nine policies that are mandated at the national level.
We then performed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to determine how existing policies could be strengthened to protect children from unhealthy food advertising.
Advantages: What are the advantages and main features of policies that restrict advertising?
Weaknesses: What are the weaknesses of the HFSS Food and Beverage Advertising Policy?
Opportunity: How can existing policies be strengthened to restrict HFSS food and non-beverage advertising to children?
Threats: What are the external conditions for me to advertise HFSS to my children?
“Of the nine mandatory policies, the Guidelines on Preventing Misleading Advertising and Recommending Misleading Advertising 2022 are the only policies that restrict advertising of HFSS foods to children in all media.”said the researchers.
Based on their findings, the researchers recommended ways to close the regulatory gap: (1) Expand the scope of regulation from “child-directed” advertising to all advertising that children come into contact with; (2) Adopt a food classification system to define junk food. (3) Expand regulatory scope to include other forms of commercial communication, such as product placement, point-of-sale displays, and packaging. (4) Limit her HFSS ads from appearing on TV during times when children's viewership is highest.
The researchers emphasized that they used a comprehensive and well-established methodology for this study and emphasized the practical application of their findings to policy-making in India. However, they acknowledged that they may have overlooked relevant policies that are not available online and/or have been adopted at the sub-national level in India.
“Strong regulation, stronger legal action and further research will play a vital role in protecting children from the harmful effects of such marketing activities in India.”the researchers concluded.
sauce: Lancet Community Health – Southeast Asia
DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2023.100315
“Are advertising policies favorable to restricting the sale of foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS) in India?: Evidence from a SWOT analysis.”
Author: Shalini Bassi, Deepika Bahl other.
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