Children eat more after seeing just five minutes of junk food ads, study finds

Children volition devour importantly much calories successful a time aft watching conscionable 5 minutes of junk nutrient advertising, according to a groundbreaking study.

Young radical who saw oregon heard adverts for products precocious successful saturated fat, sweetener and brackish consumed an mean of 130 other calories, equivalent to 2 slices of bread, the probe found.

The survey progressive 240 seven- to 15-year-olds, from schools successful Merseyside. On 2 abstracted occasions, they were shown oregon played 5 minutes of junk nutrient adverts and past non-food adverts.

Subsequently, they were offered snacks specified arsenic grapes oregon cocoa buttons, and later, luncheon with a scope of savoury, saccharine and steadfast items.

The authors calculated that, aft the adverts, the children consumed 58 calories much successful snacks and ate 73 much calories for luncheon than aft vulnerability to non-food ads.

The research, to beryllium presented astatine the European Congress connected Obesity successful Málaga, Spain, besides recovered that the interaction connected calorie intake was the aforesaid whether the adverts were for circumstantial foods oregon were generic adverts for accelerated nutrient brands.

And it was unaffected by the benignant of advert, specified arsenic video with sound, societal media posts, podcast adverts, and posters oregon billboards.

Emma Boyland, the pb writer of the survey and prof of nutrient selling and kid wellness astatine the University of Liverpool, said: “This is the archetypal survey to amusement that brand-only nutrient advertizing affects what children eat.

“We besides showed that children don’t conscionable devour much instantly pursuing nutrient advertising, they really ate much astatine the luncheon repast arsenic well, a mates of hours aft they had seen the advertising.

“The foods that we served them weren’t the aforesaid foods that were shown successful the advertisements and were presented with nary branding information. So it wasn’t that they were driven to bargain the peculiar nutrient oregon spell and devour accelerated food, it was conscionable a punctual to devour what was available.”

Experts warned that the findings revealed a loophole successful the government’s projected prohibition connected junk nutrient TV adverts earlier 9pm, owed to travel into effect successful October.

Katharine Jenner, the manager of the Obesity Health Alliance, said the survey indispensable nonstop “a wide connection to policymakers: nutrient advertizing is driving excess calorie intake successful children”.

She added: “From October, caller restrictions volition bounds unhealthy nutrient adverts connected TV earlier 9pm and online astatine immoderate clip – a captious measurement guardant that volition support children from the worst offenders.

“But loopholes remain. Brands volition inactive beryllium capable to advertise to young radical adjacent without showing circumstantial products, connected billboards and astatine autobus stops, and children surviving with overweight oregon obesity are particularly vulnerable.

“If the authorities is superior astir ending junk nutrient advertizing to children, they indispensable adjacent the loopholes that volition let companies to support bombarding them.”

Dr Helen Stewart, the serviceman for wellness betterment astatine the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Childhood obesity is stubbornly high, with children successful the astir deprived areas facing rates much than doubly arsenic precocious arsenic their peers. Paediatricians recognise that tackling this situation is intolerable without besides introducing indispensable measures specified arsenic regulations connected the nutrient industry.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “This authorities has taken bold enactment to extremity junk nutrient ads targeted astatine children connected TV and online, which volition trim the fig surviving with obesity by 20,000 and present wellness benefits to the system worthy £2bn.

“We are encouraging the manufacture to absorption connected healthier options by allowing companies to advertise healthier alternatives successful identified categories.”