Influencer Thomas van Grinsven proudly poses next to a stack of chocolate bars, his mouth open in a soundless ‘wow’. “How many Milkarepen do you count?” reads under the Instagram photo. “As an ambassador, I may give away my height in Milkarepen.”
Getting rid of a pile of chocolate bars: that doesn’t quite fit in with the government’s aim to reduce overweight. Half of adults are overweight and 15 percent obese, according to figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics last week. Those percentages have been about the same for years. One in six children is also overweight.
The example with Van Grinsven comes from a report on children’s marketing. The food industry has promised to refrain from advertising unhealthy products for under 12s. In theory, they are not allowed to create an Instagram account. But the practice is different, and Van Grinsven is clearly a child idol, says research agency Panteia.
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‘Rigious measures needed against unhealthy marketing’
The idea that the industry will solve the problem itself is one of the reasons that tackling overweight is insufficient, thinks Jessica Kiefte-de Jong, professor of public health at the Leiden University Medical Center. “Ultimately, making money too often trumps health,” she says. Although steps have been taken: the portions of some snacks have become smaller, or they are gradually becoming less unhealthy. But Kiefte thinks rigorous measures are necessary.
State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (Public Health) is working on a legal ban on marketing for unhealthy food for anyone under the age of 18. This also makes it easier to restrict advertising by influencers. Kiefte would prefer to see the marketing of unhealthy food limited to adults as well. Manufacturers, shops and the catering industry spend an estimated 1.6 billion euros annually on marketing, of which around 80 percent is spent on unhealthy products.
Kiefte also thinks that the voluntary Nutri-Score should become mandatory. That label quickly gives an impression of how (un)healthy a product is. It is already on some supermarket products and was designated last week by Van Ooijen as the official national food label, but according to the State Secretary it can only be made mandatory in a European context. According to Kiefte, the label also encourages manufacturers to make their products healthier.
More obesity in neighborhoods with many unhealthy eateries
With a snack bar on the street corner, our living environment does not encourage us to eat healthy, says Kiefte. According to her, obesity is more common in neighborhoods with a cluster of unhealthy eateries. This may be partly because the demand for unhealthy food is higher there, but according to Kiefte, the availability also creates new demand.
Those who are already stressed are particularly sensitive to the temptation of convenience foods that are readily available, according to research, according to Kiefte. “That could be financial stress, for example.” In addition, healthy eating is often more complicated: it requires more planning to make a weekly menu than to get a fries. And those who are under stress have less room in their heads to think ahead.
Psychological support is not always reimbursed
According to Kiefte, care providers now often emphasize explaining what a healthy eating pattern is, but most people know that. According to Kiefte, psychological support is also necessary. People with obesity have experienced major events in their lives more often than average. They need help to better deal with emotions and food.
Recently, some obese or overweight people can participate in an intensive two-year lifestyle program. But it is precisely people who struggle with overweight and more complex psychological problems that do not qualify. The same applies to people who are not yet seriously overweight. Kiefte believes that this drug should be reimbursed for a much larger group.
Municipalities should also be able to intervene to remove the temptation, for example by curbing the establishment of snack bars around schools, Kiefte believes. “Once a place like this is there, children go there,” she says. “Maybe a small group at first, then it becomes the norm in their environment. In the end, a group of children grow up with the idea that it is normal to eat there.”
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2023-04-29 07:54:07
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