Does advertising make children and young people fat?

Food advertising can influence the eating habits of children and young people. Responsibility is required from companies in advertising and promoting health literacy.

According to Statistics Austria, around 3.7 million people over the age of 15 in Austria are overweight and around 17% of them are even obese. Another statistic is also frightening: About 80 percent of overweight children remain overweight into adulthood. How does advertising contribute to this? Are advertisements for foods high in fat, sugar and / or calories partly responsible for the obesity of the local population? Eva Komarek, General Editor for Trend Topics at Styria Media Group, discussed this as the moderator of the industry speech with a panel of experts consisting of Petra Lehner, Senior Expert Food & Health at the Chamber of Labor, Caroline Meyer, President of State of the Student Union of Lower Austria, Philipp Bodzenta, Director of Public Affairs of Coca-Cola Austria and Michael Straberger, President of the Society for Self-Regulation in the Advertising Industry (Advertising Council).

It’s no secret that soft drinks sometimes contain a lot of sugar, which can have unhealthy effects on the human body when consumed in excess. But how does advertising encourage excessive consumption? “The data has become more condensed in recent years. Current meta-analyzes show that there is a causal connection between advertising consumption and obesity in children and adolescents, “said Petra Lehner. If you sit, you don’t move.” A study by MedUni Vienna estimates that time on the screen of children between the ages of 12 and 17 can reach 7.5 hours a day. This obviously at the expense of movement time. But eating behavior is clearly also influenced by food advertising, “says Lehner. Coca-Cola is well aware of its social responsibility. “Basically, we don’t play any channels that are consumed by children under 13. We take this self-regulation very seriously, “said Philipp Bodzenta of Coca-Cola Austria. This means: If a segment has a target group of more than 30% of young people under the age of 13, this segment is not used for advertising of Coca-Cola. This also applies to the social media and influencer area, as well as sponsorships. Children’s TV, TikTok, etc .: an ad-free zone for Coca-Cola. “We are very consistent and transparent here and we are regularly reviewed. “The Coca-Cola portfolio also includes many low-calorie, zero-calorie products, which however are not advertised for this target group. Self-regulation leads to painful cuts for the beverage manufacturer: the famous Coca-Cola Cup , a football cup for children up to age 12, was voluntarily discontinued. “But if you limit yourself, this also offers the opportunity to try new things,” said Bodzenta, referring to Coca-Cola Uni fied Cup, which stands for diversity and inclusion.
“As a non-profit organization, the Advertising Council is there to stimulate the Austrian advertising industry to advertise as ethically and morally as possible,” said Michael Straberger, praising the responsibility that increasingly well-known companies are taking. . “When we receive consumer complaints, they are evaluated by about 200 experts, and if the advertising council’s code of ethics is violated, advertising is also stopped,” said Straberger. “Last year’s amendment to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive obliges us to gather information on the possible withdrawal of advertising measures after requests have been made. There are only a few black sheep and it is a positive response that companies withdraw advertising measures on their own initiative after consumer complaints. Reputable brands can no longer afford to ignore consumer complaints. “

Liability instead of prohibitions

Straberger thinks little of an advertising ban. “If you completely ban advertising for certain target groups, there is a risk that there will soon be advertising bans for certain product groups.” The most sensible step is to raise awareness of healthy eating.

So Coca-Cola does not target advertising to children under the age of 13 and does not advertise in schools. For young people, however, responsible advertising can make sense.

In any case, what is needed above all is the discourse on advertising, which should already take place at home. It’s not just the economy that needs to take responsibility: first of all, everyone’s health awareness needs to be promoted at an early stage and youth representative Caroline Meyer in particular sees a lot to do here. “It is important that the responsibility is already assumed at home, this applies to healthy eating habits and to many other topics such as financial education, environmental awareness, media competence.” But the school also has a responsibility. “While everything is fine if there is no advertising for certain foods, there should also be healthy and attractive alternatives in schools when it comes to consumption. For example vegan, vegetarian products.” A healthy lifestyle must also have more space in the system. educational. “The purpose of the school is to prepare young people for the future so that they can lead long, healthy and self-determined lives. This requires teachers who are passionate about teaching the topic of health literacy, experts who regularly give school lessons and the latest achievements of the research to have the pulse of the pulse and, contrary to all negative trends, to present the topic in a positive light and make healthy eating attractive for children and young people, ”states Meyer’s impressive appeal.“ Literacy health is having a hard time penetrating the business and lifestyle today because there are so many unhealthy patterns to resist “.

It is not just that the poorer and less educated classes are more affected by overweight and obesity. “Corona has intensified this and also expressed the social gradient even more clearly,” Lehner said. It is all the more necessary for schools to increase their preventive effect so that even children who are already going through a difficult time due to their social status can benefit.
At the same time, advertising for healthy products must become more attractive. In the industry speech, Petra Lehner presented the results of a study that, in a laboratory setting, test people were shown advertising clips of healthy foods and foods high in fat, sugar and / or calories in a movie. After the film, the candidates were able to choose from the products presented. It has been found that in most cases, advertising for healthy foods is not as effective for consumers. For Meyer, however, it is a misconception that healthy foods are generally not attractive to young people. “A lot depends on how things are advertised,” said the state president of the Lower Austrian student union, citing the example of advertising for an overpriced water brand that was presented as desirable and a luxury item and therefore it got a particularly positive score among young people. “It is not the product or the level of health that determines whether the marketing is more or less successful, but rather the way it is communicated to the target group.” It is therefore also important to rely on role models. “Young people are receptive to influencers, which have a huge impact on purchasing and consumption decisions and profound psychological developments also associated with mental health,” said Meyer, who also sees this as a problem because many influencers are unaware of it. .
On the other hand, this power can also be used positively. This is evidenced by topics like fitness, self-care, self-acceptance, etc. “The body positivity movement wouldn’t exist without social media and influencers,” Meyer said. “Influencers are great influencers that they need to be aware of so they can lead to positive and powerful movements.”

It is a question of perspective

Straberger also focused on raising awareness about healthy eating. “You should definitely consume stimulants, but it’s important to be aware of what’s good and what’s bad for the body.” It’s the dose that matters. Bodzenta also conveyed this message: “Regardless of the food, it is important to have the right sense of proportion. If you don’t learn to use it responsibly, you can overdo it with healthy food ». For this reason, the Chamber of Labor is also asking for regulation. “Education needs regulation,” says Lehner. “At the moment we only have self-observation.” The Chamber of Labor is linked to consumer protection and health organizations across Europe and is committed to directing advertising for children under the age of 12. “Control instead of prohibitions.” And this is where the European approach is most effective – with maximum values ​​for unfavorable ingredients, which must also be specified for advertising. “So that some foods that are too high in fat, sugar and salt are not advertised for these age groups,” Lehner said. “This control means that healthy foods should definitely be advertised because they have a positive influence on children’s eating habits.”
Straberger also expects food labeling, but stressed that labeling without sensitization is not effective.

social position

“Brands and companies need to justify everything they do to be well received by us as consumers,” says Meyer, convinced that Generation Z is sometimes even more demanding than adults in this regard and feels a huge need for information. “A brand that does not position itself socially and, for example, does not speak out against racism, or does not have the pulse of the times in the here and now, has a bad hand with young people”.
The closing words of the discussion belonged to Philipp Bodzenta: “Our approach is to try to lead by example, respect them, refine them and improve them continuously. Both through self-regulation of advertising, but also through restrictive policies, such as: no advertising in schools. We hope to be able to lead by example with this. “