More than three quarters of people would support a ban on influencer and celebrity-led endorsements of junk food to children online, a new survey has found.
The Irish Heart Foundation (IHF), which commissioned the survey, said the health of children is “being compromised” due to the prevalence of these advertisements.
Recent research by Safefood, published in February, found children and teenagers see an average of 15 to 19 marketing posts promoting unhealthy food every hour – roughly one every four minutes
The IHF-commissioned poll found 79 per cent supported a ban on celebrity/influencer endorsements of unhealthy foods and drinks, which are high in sugar, fat and salt.
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According to the poll, 87 per cent believe there is excessive junk food marketing targeting children, with 69 per cent believing the Government is letting youngsters down. A vast majority (88 per cent) would back State intervention such as subsidies on fruit and vegetables.
The survey was conducted by Ipsos B&A, with 1,000 people questioned in a nationally representative sample.
Prof Mimi Tatlow Golden, lead researcher for the University of Galway study on the issue, said teenagers are “flooded with influencer content on social media and they love it – they watch it for five times as long as paid-for ads”.
“This is a global juggernaut where influencers of all kinds have become the most powerful tool available to unhealthy food brands and parents can’t fully know what is happening,” she added.
The IHF is calling for a complete ban on online junk food promotion to under-18s, including targeting influencers on social media apps.
The charity also wants a 9pm watershed on TV junk food ads and the State to stop accepting advertising from big brands at publicly-owned hubs such as bus stops, railway stations and billboards.
Chris Macey, the charity’s director of advocacy, said these products expose children to diet-related diseases and the potential for lifetime harm.
“We know that seeing just one single junk food ad will add an average of 30-50 calories to a child’s diet. But it only takes [an extra] 48-71 calories daily for kids to gain weight over time,” he said.
“These extraordinary levels of exposure reveal the devastating impact that junk food marketing is having, and not just in driving high levels of childhood obesity. Virtually every child’s health is being compromised by an advertised diet that turns the food pyramid on its head, making unhealthy choices and overconsumption inevitable.”
Macey acknowledged efforts were introduced in recent years in a bid to tackle the problem but described them as an “utter waste of time”, and that commitments were “broken”.
“We now have conclusive proof of the extent and impact of junk food marketing on our children, which provides Government with a simple decision: protect the health of children or the profits of multinational food corporations,” he said.
“There can be no more voluntary codes to provide a pretence of action. Only a full ban on online junk food marketing will work.”
