TV Ads Affecting Kids' Dietary Habits
The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has announced on 7 Oct, 2017 that they will be making a partial revision of the Special Act on Safety Management of Children's Dietary Lifestyle (Notification no. 2017-353).
Reason for revision:
The restrictions period stipulated for the commercial broadcasting time limit for high calorie, low-nutrient and high-caffeine-containing foods is coming to an end soon (Deadline: Jan 26, 2018) under Article 7-2 (5) (Restrictions, etc. on Advertising Time)
It is hence necessary to comprehensively consider the necessity and the appropriateness of the relevant regulations. Restrictions on advertising time are continuously required in order to ensure that kids practice healthy dietary habits. The MFDS has proposed for the deletion of Article 7-2 (5) given below:
The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (4) shall apply to cases where those manufacturing, processing, importing, distributing, or selling children's favorite foods advertise or intend to advertise high-calorie, low nutrient foods and caffeine-rich foods until January 26, 2018. <Amended by Presidential Decree No. 25131, Jan. 28, 2014; Presidential Decree No. 26065, Jan. 28, 2015>
Worldwide government intervention has been implemented. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been developing a Nutrient Profile Model based on the marketing approval criteria targeted at children consumers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced new rules restricting access and exposure to snacks for school on Junk Food Day (July 2016).
Chile prohibited the advertisement of food that arouse the desire and interest of kids below 14 (Junk food: products exceeding the nutrient limit prescribed by the Ministry of Health)
Further, there was also the incident reported by CNN on May 16, 2017 where a 16-year-old school student from South Carolina who died from caffeine-induced cardiac arrest. (For further details: CNN
Survey on children as of Dec 2016:
Media where children obtain information about their favorite snacks:
TV advertisements: 25.8%
At the stores: 29.1%
Internet: 8.1%
Smartphones : 10.6%
About 65.5% of food items advertised on TV are actually ingested. The respondents of the survey gave 2.8 out of a total of 4 points (i.e. 70 points if converted into a 100 points) for whether they felt that the TV advertisement restrictions imposed were helpful in making them practice correct eating habits.
- 63.3% of the respondents felt that an extension of the time restriction for TV advertisements for high-calorie, low-nutrient and high-caffeinated foods is required
- 81.9% felt that provisions to manage Internet information exposure is required.
Survey on elementary school parents as of Dec 2016:
- 61.8% responded that the restriction of TV commercials is useful for healthy eating of the children
- 51.4% attributed their negative response due to the exposure of too much information available in their children's surrounding environment
- 21.4% felt that the advertisement restricted time was limited.
- 89.6% felt that the time limit for TV commercials for high-calorie, low-nutrition, and high-caffeinated foods should be extended.
* Factors influencing children's favorite food intake patterns (by Lee Seung Min, Sungshin Women's Universsity as of Dec 2016)
Survey on TV ratings for children, Aug 2017:
According to the viewership trends of children by time of day, the ratings increase abruptly from 5 pm and the viewership of children in 2011 has decreased compared with that in 2014.
* (5:00 pm audience rating) 4 - 12 years: 2.8% → 2.1%, 13 - 18 years: 3.4% → 2.2%
Viewership trends of children below 18 years old by time of day
Viewership trends of children between 4 - 12 by time of day
Viewership trends of children between 13 - 18 by time of day
[Graph Source: MFDS Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp. (kobaco): [Nielsen Korea, 2011/2014/2017 (~ 7.24), Metropolitan area, targeting children between 4 - 12 years / 13 - 18 years, based on three terrestrial broadcasters (KBS2, MBC, SBS), unit :%]
Other effects:
It contributes to the health promotion of children by encouraging healthy dietary habits against obesity and nutrition imbalance trends of kids.
Appropriateness of regulation:
1. Proportional feasibility between purpose and means:
- Upon checking behavioral and dietary changes in children who are exposed to TV commercials, it has been confirmed that children who are exposed to food commercials that are harmful to health may be influenced in their food preferences, consumption and behavior, hence TV commercial regulations are deemed necessary.
Examples of studies conducted overseas:
University of Liverpool, England:
US: TV advertising causes child's unconscious snack consumption (Nov 22, 2016)
International standards conformity:
The World Health Organization has prepared and applied the “nutrient profile” (since 2015) and in developed countries such as UK and Netherlands, etc. restrictions on food commercials targeted at children are used as an important measure among many other ways to resolve the problem of obesity among children.
Whether to keep or let it go:
Even though the validity period of the restriction of broadcasting time for high-calorie, low-fat foods and high-caffeine-containing foods will come to an end on Jan 26, 2018, it is necessary to maintain restriction regulations on TV commercials that are helpful for children's healthy dietary habits. The WHO and developed countries are also introducing restrictions on broadcasting advertising in order to solve the problem of obesity in children and considering the fact that policies have already had a positive effect when they were introduced in 2013 and 2015, it is necessary to abolish the sunset regulations and keep the TV commercial broadcasting restriction regulations.
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