Advertising to children: a changing media landscape

The Department of Health published statistics in the summer of 2006 forecasting a continuation in the rise in childhood obesity over the next few years, casting serious doubt about its ability to meet its own target to halt the year‐on‐year rise by 2010. In the same week, in recognition of the dangerous levels of inactivity in the UK, the Government announced a dedicated “Minister of Fitness” in an effort to encourage people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles. In the midst of concerning lifestyle trends that effect us all, as individuals, parents, businesses and politicians alike, the debate over the role of food and soft drink advertising to children continues. The premise that is often portrayed by the press is that the industry is putting profit ahead of consumers’ health. This reflects a misunderstanding of the basic nature of the obesity problem, which is caused by an imbalance between energy consumed and energy expended. As the Secretary of State has intimated, over the last 25 years whilst the levels of calorific intake have been in continual decline, activity levels have declined at a fifty percent faster rate.