An 11-year-old saw 27 junk food ads in one hour. Here’s how brands are targeting your kids
A new national study has revealed the full extent of fast food marketing Australian children are being exposed to, with an 11-year-old boy viewing 27 junk food ads in just one hour.
The study by Deakin Centre for Global New national data, released today by Deakin Centre for Global Preventive Health and Nutrition (GLOBE), Food for Health Alliance, VicHealth and The Evidence Exchange, has unveiled the true extent of unhealthy food marketing children are exposed to online.
A new study has shown children are being exposed to unhealthy and fast food marketing more than ever before. iStock
Restrictions on this marketing to children is based on voluntary initiatives and industry codes that rely on self-regulation, Jane Martin, Executive Manager of Food for Health Alliance, an Australian public health policy and advocacy organisation, told nine.com.au.
These initiatives include the AFGC Quick Service Restaurant Initiative (QSRI), a voluntary agreement specifically for fast-food chains (such as McDonald’s, KFC, and Hungry Jack’s) that commits signatories to only market healthier food choices directly to children under 15.
There’s also the AANA Food and Beverages Advertising Code, which sets strict rules prohibiting the promotion of “occasional” (unhealthy or junk) foods directly to children across media, including TV, social media, and digital platforms.
Restrictions on this marketing to children is currently based on voluntary initiatives and industry codes. iStock
Then there’s the AANA Children’s Advertising Code, which outlines broader requirements around safety, transparency, influencer disclosures and preventing deceptive advertising directed at children.
Despite these measures, the study found more than nine in 10 children saw food marketing during their time online. Children aged eight to 12 saw an average of six food ads an hour, about 10 a day based on their self-reported screen usage, with 68 per cent of ads seen on YouTube. Teenagers aged 13 to 17 saw an average of eight food ads an hour, or 17 a day, based on self-reported screen time.
Most of these ads appeared on TikTok (38 per cent), YouTube (23.7 per cent) and Instagram (21.3 per cent).
The report also includes case studies of children who were targeted with food marketing at much higher rates, including one 11-year-old boy who saw 27 online food ads in an hour from brands including Red Bull, Doritos, Coca-Cola and Sprite.
Most of these ads appeared on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. iStock
Top brands marketed to younger children were KFC, Nutella, Domino’s Pizza, McDonalds, Red Bull and Coca Cola. For adolescents, these were McDonald’s, Red Bull, KFC, Uber Eats and Coca Cola.
“These are large corporations who are being very deliberate with their marketing strategies, are they’re getting kids when they’re young because then they’re customers for life. This is not accidental,” Martin suggested.
“Food companies, enabled by major digital platforms, can design this insidious marketing to keep children engaged with brands, and these results show just how much they are targeted with for every hour online.”
She is calling for further regulation of the industry, and said recent measures to restrict children’s use of social media aren’t effective.
“I think the main problem is with the social media bans is a lot of younger children are being targeted through YouTube, and you don’t need to be logged into an account to see YouTube,” she explained.
“So it will have very little effect on exposure of young younger children because they’re mostly accessing and seeing these ads through YouTube and potentially not logged in.
She said the effectiveness of the government’s proposal to restrict social media algorithms remains to be seen.
She said recent measures to restrict children’s use of social media aren’t effective. iStock
Martin is calling for a system similar to that of the UK, where fast food and unhealthy food marketing is controlled through legally binding government legislation enforced by statutory bodies, making it one of the strictest jurisdictions in the world.
“We’re all affected by advertising, but children are particularly vulnerable, and we want to support them to have healthy diets to reduce their risk of diet-related disease. We want them to have a long and healthy life.”
