T.O. health officer: Ban sugary ads that target kids under 13
Sarah Green
Toronto Sun
February 23, 2008
They're not so Grrreat!
Toronto's medical officer of health wants to see an end
to food and beverage advertising targeting Canadian
children under the age of 13.
In a report to the city's board of health, Dr. David
McKeown called for the ban, saying marketing has a
strong influence on children's diets.
"Food and beverage products developed for, and
advertised to young people are dominated by those that
are calorie dense and nutrient poor," said the report,
to be presented Tuesday.
"There is strong evidence that advertising influences
the food and beverage preferences, purchase requests and
short-term consumption of children ... a ban on the
commercial advertising of food and beverages to children
under 13 years of age is appropriate and feasible at
this time," the report said.
It called for the federal and provincial governments to
legislate the ban. Quebec has already banned all forms
of advertising to children under 13.
14 HOURS OF TV
The average child aged 2 to 11 in Canada watches 14
hours of TV a week. While there's no Canadian research,
children aged 2 to 7 in the U.S. were exposed to 17
minutes of advertising a day, and 37 minutes for kids
aged 8 to 12, the report said. U.S. research also shows
children see 27 food ads on TV for every public service
announcement promoting healthy eating.
"It's sad to say many children don't even know what
broccoli or cauliflower are," said Dr. David Lau,
president of Obesity Canada.
TV ads have a "huge influence" on children, creating an
appetite for everything from cereal to sugar-laden fruit
juices which have as many calories as pop, Lau said.