Marketing of unhealthy food and drinks harms children’s growth and development by shaping their dietary preferences and encouraging the repeated purchase and consumption of unhealthy foods that can contribute to poor health and wellbeing. Psychological differences between adults and children make children more vulnerable to marketing messages, therefore it is widely acknowledged that policy intervention is needed to protect children from unhealthy food and drink marketing.
| Indicator | Result | Previous | Assessment* | What was measured? | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
TV |
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Average rate of unhealthy^ food and drink advertising |
9.5/hour – weekdays |
Audience ratings and types of |
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Proportion of food and drink advertisements that were unhealthy^ |
63.7% – weekdays |
Audience ratings and types of |
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Average number of unhealthy food and drink advertisements aired in children’s peak viewing times** |
12/hour – weekdays |
Audience ratings and types of |
|||
Digital |
|||||
Proportion of company websites that featured marketing of unhealthy^ products |
81% |
Websites of the 64 most popular |
How healthy are |
||
Proportion of company websites featuring unhealthy^ products that used promotional strategies specifically targeting children |
35% |
Websites of the 64 most popular |
How healthy are |
||
Proportion of Facebook and |
85% |
Facebook and YouTube channels |
How healthy are |
||
Proportion of unhealthy^ food |
10% |
Posts from 31 New Zealand food |
How healthy are |
||
Outdoor |
|||||
Average number of unhealthy^ food advertisements that children are exposed to: |
168, 12-year-old children wore automatic cameras that took an image of the child’s surroundings |
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– for every hour that they spend outdoors
|
|
As above |
|
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– on their way to or from school each day |
|
As above |
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Density of unhealthy food |
Median: 9.4 per km2 Max: 468.5 per km2 |
Total number of food |
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Product packaging |
|||||
Sponsorship |
|||||
Proportion of food and drink |
21% |
Sponsorships of sports clubs^^ |
How healthy are |
*Green = ‘promotes health’; Orange = ‘needs improvement to promote health’; Red = ‘unhealthy’. For criteria, refer to the Indicator Assessment Criteria at the bottom of the page.
** Children’s peak viewing times were defined as being when the highest number of children aged 5-13 were watching television, from 7:30-8:30 and 17:00-21:00 on weekdays, and 8:00-9:00 and 17:30-21:30 on weekends.
^ For this purpose, the term unhealthy is defined as food products which the WHO-Europe nutrient profiling model determines should not be marketed to children.
^^ Information was gathered from the web pages of children’s sports clubs in Auckland, North Harbour, Hawke’s Bay, and Otago
Key Recommendations
The current New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority self-regulatory system is ineffective at reducing the repeated exposure to, and power of, marketing of unhealthy food and drink to children on their screens, in their classrooms and in the neighborhoods in which they live, play, and go to school.
Effective legislative policy that protects children from unhealthy food and drink marketing is required.
This legislation should keep kids and environments healthy and restrict junk food marketing in:
- Children’s spaces, including schools, kura, early childhood centres, playgrounds, children’s sports settings, and outdoor settings 500 meters around children’s educational institutions
- New Zealand-based digital media in the form of paid marketing and sponsorship
- Public services like hospitals, libraries, parks, sports grounds, pools, community centres and on public transport networks and facilities
- Broadcast media between 6am and 10pm
The legislation should also restrict all unhealthy food marketing that is:
- Being sent directly to children, like flyers, emails, or any other media for children
- Being targeted at children, for example children’s toys, cartoon illustrations on product packaging, or promotional material, including junk-food producer branding on items for children or at children’s events
For more information on policy recommendations, please visit junkfoodfree.org
For more information
Reports
How healthy are Aotearoa New Zealand’s food environments? 2021 Full Report
Journal Articles
Shen S, Mackay S, Lee A, Ni Mhurchu C, Sherif A, Eyles H. Impact of a voluntary industry code for advertising food to children and young people: An analysis of New Zealand television data. Public Health Nutr. 2021;1–27.
Vandevijvere S, Soupen A, Swinburn B. Unhealthy food advertising directed to children on New Zealand television: extend, nature, impact and policy implications. Public Heal Nutr. 2017 Dec 26;20(17):3029-3040
Liu W, Barr M, Pearson AL, Chambers T, Pfeiffer KA, Smith M, et al. Space-time analysis of unhealthy food advertising: New Zealand children’s exposure and health policy options. Health Promot Int. 2019;35(4):812–20.
Barr M. Quantifying Children’s Exposure to Outdoor Food Advertising. University of Otago; 2018.
Vandevijvere S, Molloy J, Hassen de Medeiros N, Swinburn B. Unhealthy food marketing around New Zealand schools: a national study. Int J Public Health. 2018;63(9):1099– 107.
| Indicator Assessment Criteria | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | |||
Proportion of all food and drink advertising that promoted unhealthy foods and drinks |
0% |
1 – 50% |
> 50% |
Average rate per hour of exposure to unhealthy food and drink advertisements |
0 |
1 advertisement |
> 1 advertisement |
Proportion of food and beverage company websites that feature marketing of unhealthy products |
0% |
1 – 50% |
> 50% |
Proportion of company websites and social media posts featuring unhealthy food and beverages that contain promotional strategies specifically targeting children |
0% |
1 – 10% |
> 10% |
Density of unhealthy food advertisements within 500m of NZ schools (0.785 km2 area) |
0 advertisements per km2 (0 in 500m radius) |
0.1 – 5 advertisements per km2 (1 – 4 in 500m radius) |
> 5 advertisements per km2 (>4 in 500m radius) |
Proportion of unhealthy food products with packaging that includes elements designed to appeal to children |
0% |
1 – 10% |
> 10% |
Proportion of food and drink sponsorships of children’s sports clubs that are from fast-food chains |
0% |
1 – 10% |
> 10% |