Recently obtained documents under the Official Information Act, as part of RNZ’s investigation “Off the Shelf: The Quiet Struggle to Stop us Eating Ourselves Sick,” have unveiled the significant role that junk food advertising plays in the ongoing obesity crisis. Health officials are advocating for stricter regulations on food advertising in response to this mounting concern.
According to the Ministry of Health, “Advertising of unhealthy food and beverages is a major contributor to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, oral disease, neurological disease, and other non-communicable diseases.” These conditions are collectively responsible for a substantial portion of health issues, including significant disparities in life expectancy among different ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand.
These comments are part of a Ministry of Health submission to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which is in the process of formulating new guidelines for marketing and advertising food and beverages to children.
Furthermore, the submission highlights the growing apprehension among health officials regarding the use of digital tracking to market unhealthy food to children. It argues that the ASA’s proposed guidelines lack adequate provisions to safeguard children from targeted advertising.
The Ministry of Health insists that “rules around data collection from children are not adequate in the environment of digital marketing,” emphasizing that the guidelines need to be more precise in defining what constitutes children’s personal information. It also calls for social responsibility to encompass the prohibition of using children’s personal data for advertising purposes, particularly for products or activities that could harm their health.
In particular, the Ministry of Health urges the ASA to implement codes that would ban digital tracking aimed at children. It notes that such practices are prevalent on the websites of popular food and beverage brands. Additionally, the ministry expresses concerns about websites offering opportunities for children to register or participate in promotions, with limited information available for parents regarding these activities.
These revelations underscore the pressing need for more robust regulations surrounding junk food advertising, especially when targeting children, as part of broader efforts to combat the growing obesity epidemic and its associated health issues.
