“The aggressive and widespread marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar, and salt to children is responsible for poor food choices,” said Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety of the UN health agency. “Calls for responsible marketing practices have had no meaningful impact.”
Like that, he said governments must build strong and comprehensive regulations.
The new WHO guidelines recommend that countries implement them comprehensive mandatory child protection policies of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugar and/or salt, a food group known by its acronym HFSS.
It’s still a long time
More than a decade after Member States endorsed WHO recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children, young people continue to be exposed to powerful marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, consume them associated with negative health effectsthe agency said.
Food marketing remains a threat to public health and continues to affect children’s food choices, intended choices, and their food intake, while also negatively influencing their development. behaviors regarding food consumption, according to WHO.
Context-driven policy making
The recommendation is based on a systematic review of evidence on policies to prevent food trafficking, including contextual factors, the health agency said.
Food marketing control policies have been shown to be most effective when they are mandatory, protecting children of all ages, and use a government-led nutrient profile model to classify foods to restrict marketing. They must also be comprehensive enough, the agency said.
Child-centered policies
WHO uses the definition of a child from the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure that policies protect all children. The agency also updated recommendations for countries to use a nutrient profile modelwhich are usually developed by governments.
Supportive food environments
Policies of protecting children from the harmful effects of food Marketing is best implemented as part of a comprehensive policy approach to create supportive food environments, the agency said.
To do this, the adoption of WHO recommendations and their adaptation to the local context require local consultations, with mechanisms to protect public health policy making from undue influence in fact, know , or potential conflicts of interest.
All WHO guidelines aim to support governments in creating healthy food environments to facilitate healthy food decisions, establish lifelong healthy eating habits, improve food quality , and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases worldwide, the agency said.