Canada should ban the marketing of junk food wherever children can be exposed to it, suggests a new study unveiled by researchers at Laval University.
This includes television, social media and billboards, specify the authors of the study, who also recommend, among other things, better financing of school feeding programs; imposing limits on salt, sugar and saturated fats used in catering and prepackaged foods; and the implementation of a tax on sugary drinks.
“The evidence shows that children are particularly vulnerable to marketing,” recalled the director of the study, Professor Lana Vanderlee, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Healthy Eating Policies.
“Marketing influences children’s food preferences and also their habits. And in Canada, the majority of current marketing that targets children is for unhealthy products. So we have a great opportunity to improve the environment and promote healthier products, but above all to avoid the promotion of unhealthy products. »
The study’s recommendations stem from the comments of around fifty nutrition specialists from across Canada.
The authors of the report highlight positive actions taken by Canada in certain areas, notably with regard to the ban on partially hydrogenated oils in foods, the regulation of the labeling of packaged products and the revision of Canada’s food guide based on recent scientific data.
Despite all this, they point out, more than three quarters of people aged 12 and over do not consume a minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables per day, around a third of the population consumes more salt than what is recommended and approximately half of Canadians’ energy intake comes from ultra-processed foods.
A framework called into question
In Quebec, the Consumer Protection Act adopted in 1978 by the government of René Lévesque prohibits commercial advertising aimed at children under 13, but some today question the relevance of this law, which counts among the most restrictive in North America on this subject.
Nationally, Canadian broadcasters have agreed to adhere to the Broadcast Advertising to Children Code as a condition of obtaining their license from the CRTC. This code specifies, among other things, that “advertising aimed at children must not directly invite the child to buy the item advertised nor encourage them to ask their parents to buy this item or to find out about it”.
Stations and networks are also prohibited from broadcasting more than four minutes of advertising in half-hour children’s programming, or from broadcasting an average of more than eight minutes of advertising per hour in children’s programming. children of a longer duration.
But these measures are obviously not foolproof. Professor Vanderlee cites the example of jurisdictions such as Mexico and the United Kingdom, which have very strict policies to regulate food policies that target children.
British authorities, for example, have proposed banning the marketing of junk food between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. on television, to prevent children from being exposed to it.
“(They) also propose restricting marketing on digital media, because it is not enough to restrict marketing during (television) shows aimed at children,” she added. There are several other shows that children are exposed to. »
The United Kingdom also adopted a tax on sugary drinks a few years ago, recalls Professor Vanderlee, which seems to have led to a reduction in the purchase and consumption of these drinks.
“The effects are small, but significant,” she said. And now we have (scientific) articles which say that it has reduced the obesity rate among young girls. »
The British experience shows that such policies, she concludes, if well thought out and well deployed, can lead to a reduction in the consumption of sugar and sugary drinks.
“We’re going to have to show a lot of political leadership,” said Professor Vanderlee. It will take innovation and ambition to tackle some of these major health problems at the population level. Finally, I would simply say that these policies will be opposed by the food industry because they will be difficult for businesses to implement. But we have seen successes in other countries, which I think shows that it is not impossible to implement such policies. It just takes a lot of political leadership to get things done. »