Abstract:
In the three years since, the evidence base
for protecting our children from unhealthy
food and drink marketing has grown stronger,
however the updated Advertising Standards
Authority Children and Young People’s
(CYPA) Code still offers little to no protection
to children.
In line with te Tiriti o Waitangi and the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,
every child has the right to grow up in an
environment that allows them to be healthy, no
matter where they live. However environments
that promote and normalise unhealthy food
and drink over healthier options, as well as
factors such as poverty and food insecurity,
mean that for many children, eating healthy
foods is difficult.
Children in Aotearoa New Zealand (hereafter
NZ) are exposed to excessive levels of
powerful unhealthy food and drink marketing
every day. It affects their food preferences and
eating behaviour, leading to a variety of health
problems including increased dental caries,
attention difficulties, emotional problems, and
increased body size. This can set children up
for a lifetime of adverse health-related and
social consequences and intergenerational
effects. We must put children before food
industry profits and act now to protect the
health and wellbeing of all children in NZ.
