Background – There is a growing concern over the increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes and dental erosion amongst Australian children. Association of the effect of marketing such as television advertising of low nutrient, high energy dense foods with childhood obesity is becoming an issue of concern for public health (1).
Objectives – The purpose of this study was to determine the nutrient content, particularly fat and sugar content, of food products marketed to children in Australia.
Design – Packaged food products (408) were purchased from supermarkets in different Brisbane regions on random days in April, June and July in 2005. A further 23 products were purchased from fast food outlets. Food products were chosen based on the marketing techniques directed at children. The food products were categorized into 17 food types. A Microsoft Access database was created to consolidate information on nutrients, labels and marketing techniques of the products evaluated. The RED category criteria tables from the Smart Choices food and drink selector (2) and the Nutrition Australia Selection Guidelines (3) were used as the benchmarks for mean energy, total fat, saturated fat, sugar and sodium levels. Statistical analyses were performed using MINITAB 14.
Outcomes – Important marketing strategies included ease-of-use packaging that is well-designed for children (88.9%), use of popular personality (63.3%) and television advertising (37.4%). Mean total fat, saturated fat and/or mean sugar content of most food types were found to be significantly higher (p <0.05) than the comparable benchmark values. The majority of the 431 food products were classified into the RED category of the Smart Choices food and drink selector ie foods that are high in energy, saturated fat, and/or added sugar and/or sodium. Conclusion – Manufacturers use a variety of techniques to market food products to children. Most of the food products especially marketed to children used in this study are not the most appropriate and healthiest food choices. References
1 Zuppa JA, Morton H, Mehta K. TV food advertising: Counterproductive to children’s health? Nutr Diet 2003;60:78–84.
2 Department of Education and the Arts & Queensland Health. Smart Choices: Healthy food and drink supply strategy for Queensland Schools. Queensland Government, 2005.
3 Nutrition Australia. Food selection guidelines for children and adolescents. Nutrition Australia, 2004.