Studying children’s exposure to junk food advertising
Research from Cancer Council NSW has revealed that most food ads kids see on public transport are for junk food, despite growing rates of childhood obesity.
Background
Around 24% of children aged 5-16 in NSW are overweight or obese. Carrying that weight into adulthood puts them at a higher risk of 13 different cancers as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Half of children eat an unhealthy snack every day and 45% regularly drink sugary drinks. Australia relies on two voluntary food industry initiatives, introduced in 2009, to restrict unhealthy food marketing to children.
The research
The study examined food advertising at main transport hubs in Sydney. It found that despite growing rates of childhood obesity, 82% of food ads on buses and at trains stations are for junk food.
Each month children under the age of 15 in NSW make over 3.3 million bus trips and over 2 million train trips. The study found that one third of the food advertisements along their journeys on public transport services were for sugary drinks and one in five for fast food meals like burgers and fried chicken. Only 12% of food ads children see when they are out are for healthy food.
In light of these findings, further research focused specifically on outdoor advertising along school routes in Sydney. This study found that 75% of the food ads Sydney children see when they travel to school are for junk food and sugary drinks. Worryingly, 72% of the food ads on buses designated to school routes were for junk food. The study concluded that children using public transport saw on average 4.5 junk food ads per trip, over double the number they would see if they walked to school.
The impact
Food advertising on public transport is having an adverse effect on efforts to reduce childhood overweight or obesity statistics. Food marketing influences what kids pester their parents to buy, ultimately influencing the foods they eat and is undermining parents’ efforts to create healthy eating habits. With a child’s school journey equating to over 400 trips per year, there are concerns that exposure to outdoor junk food advertising is unavoidable whether a child is walking or taking the bus or train.
This research underpins the recommendation that removing junk food advertising from state-owned property including public transport should be the next step in protecting children from junk food marketing, as part of initiatives to reduce childhood obesity rates, helping children develop healthy eating habits for life, and ultimately saving lives.
Research team
Wendy Watson
Cancer Council NSW
Korina Richmond
Clare Hughes
Bridget Kelly