Television and other forms of electronic media have become ever-present influences on our lifestyles, the information we receive and our subsequent view of the world. It is not surprising then that these media are an important focus of analysis and debate in the context of public health nutrition, in particular concerning their contribution to obesogenic environments and their related influence over consumption behaviour.
Use of these media to selectively market obesogenic foods and beverages to children has been widely criticised as being exploitative and inappropriate. This issue publishes an important short communication from Swinburn et al.(Reference Swinburn, Sacks, Lobstein, Rigby, Baur, Brownell, Gill, Seidell and Kumianyika1) (collectively representing the International Obesity Taskforce Working Group on Marketing to Children) outlining the ‘Sydney Principles’. This set of seven principles, developed based on a children’s rights-based approach, is promoted for use as a benchmark action to reduce marketing to children. The authors call for the formation of an International Code on Food and Beverage Marketing to Children, based on these principles. This paper should be compulsory reading for students, practitioners and academics as a source of conceptual clarity on this issue. More importantly, it should be a rod to the back of policy makers worldwide who are charged with the responsibility of protecting the interests of our children and the public health.
It is no surprise that watching television is a behaviour that increases the risk of becoming and staying overweight or obese. Xu et al.(Reference Xu, Li, Ware and Owen2) present results from a cross-sectional study among high-school students in China that supports this relationship. Halford et al.(Reference Halford, Boyland, Hughes, Stacey, McKean and Dovey3) provide evidence from a study in the UK that obese and overweight children are more responsive to food promotion, stimulating the intake of energy-dense snacks. The evidence in support of the ‘Sydney Principles’ is clearly mounting.
Television is not the only vehicle for influencing consumers’ food and beverage purchasing and consumption behaviours. In this issue, Mazur et al.(Reference Mazur, Telega and Kotowicz4) present the findings of a study of the impact of point-of-purchase advertising on food purchases by students in primary and secondary schools in Poland. Lozada et al.(Reference Lozada, Sánchez-Castillo, Cabrera, Mata, Pichardo-Ontiveros, Villa and James5) present evidence from a study in Mexican schools indicating that school food supplies are not immune to vendors marketing obesogenic foods. School food supplies and associated marketing need ongoing scrutiny. The mantra of individual responsibility often promulgated by those resistant to legislative protection of consumers is not credible in the context of children and the environments they occupy.
The ‘Sydney Principles’ have application in all settings where advertisers exploit sophisticated marketing strategies to influence the food choice and related health of children and the broader public.
