Is Your Kid Safe from Unhealthy Food Marketing?

A shocking new preprint study published last December has revealed the alarming extent to which children and teens in Canada are being bombarded with unhealthy food marketing across digital platforms like social media, websites, and mobile games.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Ottawa, used a standard “screen capture” method. A hundred people aged 6-17 years used their digital devices as usual, but recorded their screens for 30 minutes. The researchers then analyzed all instances of food marketing that appeared during those recordings.

The Data at a Glance

The findings are disturbing. On average, these children viewed nearly 2 instances of food marketing every 30 minutes, while teens viewed an estimated 2.6 instances in the same timeframe. The researchers extrapolated this data and calculated that children are exposed to an average of 4,067 advertisements for unhealthy foods per year, while teens are exposed to a staggering 8,301 such ads annually.

Where are kids being hit with all this junk food marketing? The majority of these ads (83%) were viewed on social media platforms like YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, and Instagram. Mobile games were another notable exposure source at 13%.

The Ads’ Content & Presentation

As you’ve already guessed, the contents of these ads are even more concerning. Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s and Burger King represented the most frequently advertised category at 22% of all promotions viewed. Other unhealthy categories like candy, sugary drinks, salty snacks, and chocolate were also heavily marketed.

Using Health Canada’s nutrient profiling system to assess the marketed foods, the researchers found that a startling 89% were classified as “unhealthy” and of potential concern for advertising to kids. Some examples of the top companies promoting these products include Mondelez (Oreos, Cadbury), PepsiCo (Pepsi, Doritos), and Coca-Cola.

The ads didn’t just push junk food – they used all the tricks in the book to appeal to young audiences. Common persuasive techniques included:

• Using fun graphics and animations.
• Incorporating popular music and songs.
• Featuring cartoon characters.
• Depicting teen idol celebrities.
• Making overt calls to buy the products.

6% even tried to misleadingly position their unhealthy products as “nutritious” through health claims and appeals, proving that big food corporations will stoop to any level to hook kids on their brands.

What’s the Solution?

The study authors highlight how youth, especially teens going through crucial cognitive development stages, are highly vulnerable to the influence of sleek, social media-driven advertising created by billion-dollar companies with unlimited marketing resources.

“Digital marketing, which frequently blurs the lines between entertainment and promotion, is also cheap,” states the paper. “Advertising costs are minimal compared to other media such as television, and individuals can be directly targeted based on their sociodemographic proles and online behaviours.”

The good news is that solutions exist through government regulations to rein in big food’s marketing to kids online. Health Canada consulted the general public about this issue last April. They also proposed restricting unhealthy food advertising to children under 13 across television, websites, apps, and social platforms. You can see examples of these propositions in the same policy’s appendices.

What’s Next?

These propositions are a good start, but there’s still a long way to go. Getting the food and marketing industries to conform to the policies is surely going to be a challenge. Filtering out ads on social media and other platforms could also be another issue.

As children’s food professionals, we’ll keep raising awareness however we can. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye out for possible further calls for consultation from Health Canada.

Has your daycare upgraded to Top Meal yet? If they’re in Calgary, tell them to give us a call!