
WHO Guidelines for Healthier Child Diets Amid Concerns Over Food Marketing
- foodfightadmin
- October 31, 2023
- Global Hunger, Nutrition
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has introduced new guidelines aimed at fostering healthier eating habits among children under 18, addressing a growing concern over marketing of unhealthy foods. These guidelines call for global policies to limit the marketing of foods high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars, and salt (HFSS) to children.
Ailan Li, Assistant Director General Division of Universal Health Coverage-Healthier Populations at the WHO, states, “This group of guidelines provides all elements to design healthy diets.” The WHO firmly recommends that restrictions on HFSS food marketing should be mandatory, cover children of all ages, and utilize a nutrient profile model to identify foods needing regulation.
This move comes thirteen years after WHO’s initial recommendations in 2010. The updated guidelines reflect advancements in marketing media, new evidence on policy effectiveness and the urgent need for countries to prioritize healthy food environments.
The press release from WHO highlights the guidelines’ intent to assist governments in promoting healthier dietary decisions and reducing the risk of noncommunicable diseases globally. A WHO report underscores the importance of a healthy diet in early life, noting that foods most commonly marketed to children are of low nutritional value, such as sugar sweetened beverages and salty snacks.
Lynnette Neufeld, Director of the Food and Nutrition Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), comments, “Healthy diets are influenced by a range of factors, including culture, traditions, and economics.”
Addressing the role of food companies, Jennifer Harris, Senior Research Advisor for Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center advised, “Companies are more focused on selling ultra processed foods. Healthy messages are often overshadowed by unhealthy ones.”
Research indicates that children and adolescents are especially susceptible to harmful food marketing, partly due to their developmental stage and high exposure. Studies published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics and the Journal of Macromarketing link targeted food marketing to obesity in children.
Dr. Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety for the WHO, asserts, “Changing diet is necessary to reduce obesity and diet related noncommunicable diseases, which significantly contribute to the global burden of disease.”
For these guidelines to be effective, Harris emphasizes the need for active participation from parents and children in demanding change and holding food companies accountable. She encourages parents to challenge companies exploiting their children’s health and advocates for adolescents to take on significant advocacy roles.