Greens call for controls on TV food advertising

The Green Party wants controls put on TV advertising following the publication of research showing most advertisements on children's programmes are for unhealthy food.

Researcher Dr Clive Wilson said yesterday New Zealand could have among the highest rates of food advertising frequency on children's television in the world.

Otago University researchers at the Wellington School of Medicine studied the frequency and content of advertising on television in the early morning, after school, early evening and weekend mornings, and compared the data with that of a similar study carried out in 1997.

Their report noted that the number of food advertisements had gone up since 1997, when the average was eight an hour, to 12 an hour now.

About 70 per cent of the commercials were for food the researchers described as "counter to improved nutrition" and only 5 per cent "favoured improved nutrition".

Green party health spokeswoman Sue Kedgley said: "It is crazy that we are allowing our children to be bombarded with advertisements by ruthless marketers for food that we know is unhealthy.

"These manipulative advertisements are telling children that it is normal and health to eat high sugar, high fat, and high salt foods on a regular basis -- and encouraging them to pester their parents to buy these products."

Ms Kedgley said the best option would be to follow the lead of Sweden and Norway, where no advertising at all was allowed during children's viewing hours.

"At the very least, the Government should be moving to urgently impose greater controls on this type of advertising," she said.

Celia Murphy, executive director of the Obesity Action Coalition, said advertisers frequently claimed commercials did not influence children's food choice but scientific evidence showed otherwise.

"Work published in Britain and the US shows that advertising does influence what children eat," she said.

- NZPA