Junk Food Advertising Should Be Banned in Australia

junk food advertising Should be banned in Australia | junk food advertising Should be banned in Australia | [Type the document subtitle] | | GOOD | 5/14/2010 |

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Contents
Executive Summary 3
1.0 Introduction 4
2.0 Discussion 5 2.1 Definition of junk food 5 2.2 Reasons junk food has become popular. 5 2.3 Target audience junk food. 6 children 2.3.1 6
2.3.2 Teens 6 2.4 Junk food causes health effects in Australia. 7 obesitO 2.4.1 7
2.4.1 Heart diseases 7
2.5 Junk food advertising 8
2.6 ban of junk food advertising 8
3.0 Conclusion: 9
4.0 Recommendations: 10
5.0 References 11
Appendix A 12

Executive Summary

The purpose of this report was to present the definition of junk food and how junk food advertising has recently become an important issue around the world which began to concern governments, health authorities and families in every country, especially in Australia .Therefore, this report will address the problem of junk food very carefully and in order to accomplish that this report will involve an internet research and will include a number of evidences, which have been taken from books, magazines and newspapers. This report has described an important solution for this problem which is banning advertisements of junk food and then discussed three reasons behind this ban in a wide range. Also, it will include many facts and statistics about junk food advertising. These statistics show and improve one important fact which is junk food advertising should be banned. .
After taking into consideration the problem of junk food advertising it is recommended, firstly, the government should restrict junk food during children 's programs and cartoons. Secondly, governments should restrict junk food advertising and let them to be broadcast in specific channels which don 't include kids ' programs and cartoons. Moreover, many campaigns should be prohibited junk food advertising for children. Finally, food companies should product healthy food instable every one. Also, they should give complete and clear information for their products.

1.0 Introduction Media can be defined by the Materials that hold data in any form to people, including television, radio, and newspapers .recently, TV advertisements which have started concerning many civil societies. These advertisements promote for many products such as junk food. In addition, junk food advertisements have increased over the past few years and played an important part in everyone 's lifestyle. This report will discuss some of the problem of junk food advertising and the reasons behind the ban of junk food advertising .moreover, this information has been took from books, magazines, newspapers and internet research. This report will discuss the issue of junk food advertising in six main points: Firstly, it is going to present the definition of junk food. Secondly, the report is going to discuss reasons junk food become very popular. Moreover, it will address the main reasons behind the ban of junk food advertising and will describe the target audience of junk food advertising. Also, it will be mentioned some health effects of junk food with present some facts and statistics which are related to this issue. Finally, the conclusion followed by recommendations.

2.0 Discussion 2.1 Definition of junk food
All experts and references states that junk food is foods which have little or no nutritional value, or it is produced with nutritional value but also have ingredients considered unhealthy (Punam J R, 2004). In addition, the medical dictionary defines junk food that foods have high-calorie food that is low in nutritional value (Medical Dictionary, 2004)
2.2 Reasons junk food has become popular. There are different reasons behind spread of junk food. The first reason relates to get or to prepare junk food is easy. For example, both parents spend a long period of time at works. This leads them unable to manage their time to perform the household such as cooking. Therefore, “Easy and quick to get” line was more popular among people who eat junk food. According to a study 2005 – 2006 the top reasons for junk food popularity are as can be seen in the figure 2.2.A (Hitti, 2008)
FIGURE (2.2.A)
FIGURE (2.2.A) Another reason for spreading junk food is that the TV commercials are very influenced to attract people to have their products such as junk food. Firstly, junk food companies use the media to seem a product is healthy and benefit to the body. Depending on the figure 3.0.A study that has shown 20% believe fast foods have many nutritious foods. Also, they are promoting the junk food consumption in children. The food companies advertise their products without ethnics business just to increase incomes. Moreover, Television food advertising has potential role in promoting unhealthy dietary practices among children. These advertising made buy junk food because it is quick service, convenience, good taste, and inexpensive prices relative to more traditional home-style restaurants (Robertson, 2006, 15).

2.3 Target audience junk food. children 2.3.1 Junk food advertising is often focused at children. These advertising often employ popular children 's movies to encourage children to eat junk food. Moreover, as it has been known at these days junk food companies offer free toy to encourage children to purchase the products. Also, vivid colors, theme music and brand and characters are used that mostly mimic children 's environment (Chapman, 2004). 2.3.2 Teens
Another focus of junk food advertising is aimed at teenagers. These advertising often include characters that are very popular, attractive and cool to attract them. In these advertising celebrities are often used, and are appearing more frequently. In addition, many advertisements capitalize on the popularity of current advertising, styles and trends. Therefore, they are based on popular trends in music and fashion (Wallace, 1992).

2.4 Junk food causes health effects in Australia. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 5 - 17 years | | Overweight but not obese | Obese | Total overweight and obese | | | Percent | | Boys | | | | 1985 | 9.3 | 1.4 | 10.7 | 1995 | 15.3 | 4.7 | 20.0 | | Girls | | | | 1985 | 10.6 | 1.2 | 11.8 | 1995 | 16.0 | 5.5 | 21.5 | obesitO 2.4.1
FIGURE (5.1.A)

FIGURE (5.1.A)

In this section of the report will discuss the health effects of junk food. Firstly, the familiar effect regards overweigh. Australia is facing calls to pay attention to health risks because it is one of highest rate of obesity around the world. Medicinal, people who are over overweight have higher rates of death and illness than people of healthy weight. These include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, psychological problems and reproductive problems for women (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009). Furthermore, based on the FIGURE 4.1.A, Australian Parliament shows that the number of overweight boys and girls has increased approximately 7% from 1985 to 1995.

2.4.1 Heart diseases Junk foods have been identified as a major cause of heart diseases. The high levels of unhealthy ingredients in junk food such as fat and sodium can contribute to heart disease by raising blood cholesterol levels and contributing to damage arterial. Additionally, most of the junk food meals contain high amount of sodium that increases and aggravates the risks of high blood pressure. According to the National Research council of the National Academy of Sciences 1,200 - 1,500 mg of sodium is the daily sodium requirement for adults. Keeping these figures in mind, you should also know that the regular table salt that we consume contains 40% sodium and a single teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium. Although the body requires minimum quantities of sodium, too much sodium contributes to high blood pressure. Sodium can also lead to building-up of fluids in case of people who are suffering from people with congestive heart diseases (Stencel, 2001).

2.5 Junk food advertising As it has presented in this essay that effects of junk food actually leads to focus on advertising, which is the main reason for spreading junk food in Australia especially among children. First, Australia has the highest number of junk food advertisings shown on television than any other country in the world. Secondly, Most of junk food shown during programs directed to children then within other programs directed at a more general audience, say the Dietitians Association of Australia (Food Advertising to Children, 2008). On the other hand, Advertisement standards in Finland and Germany, where are prohibited to advert through cartoon characters. Also, In Norway and Sweden are banned advertising targeting children under the age of 12. With regard one of the most important s study which is” How much food advertising is there on Australian television”, written by Chapman and others, shows and analyses several of statistics depending upon food advertising on Australian television. Furthermore, Mr Chapman analyzed more than 10550 advertisements, and found 31% were food advertisements as well as 81% of the food advertisements were for junk food. Not that only also more than 25% of them had been shown between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 P.M (Chapman,Nicholas,and Supramaniam 2006).

2.6 ban of junk food advertising Junk food advertisements have totally increased over the past few years. These advertisements have affected in the way that people choose their food, especially for children who have registered the highest rates of obesity and overweight. Therefore, as mentioned before that many countries decided to ban all junk food advertisement such as Canada. In addition, this decision came after a long study for the effects of junk food advertisements on people from different ages. At these days, civil society organizations in Australia call to ban junk food ads for instance, Australian Medical Association, Dietitians Association of Australia, Centre for Health Promotion, a lot of experts, researchers, and research centers. According to Dr Rosanna Capolingua said that Australia should said today that Australia should join an international movement to ban junk food advertising in children 's television viewing times(AMA calls for ban of junk food advertising on children’s TV, 2009).

3.0 Conclusion:
In conclusion, this report has argued definition of junk food. Also, it introduces the target audience of these advertising, which are the children and teenagers. Then it discusses the reasons behind junk food advertising relating to children’s obesity and health problems. Finally, the report tries for baring junk food advertising and claims to ban junk food advertisings.

4.0 Recommendations: This report has identified the problem of junk food advertising that it has become concern governments and families all over the world. In addition, it discussed three main reasons to ban junk food advertisements regarding to the high rates of obesity in children and the increase of health problems .Accordingly, to achieve that many things to save our nation from greed companies as follow firstly, the government should insert strict regulations to protect children from junk food advertisements. Secondly, the government should restrict junk food during children 's programs and cartoons. Thirdly, focusing on greater public nutritional awareness could help to remove the effects of junk food ads because reducing the amount of junk food ads may not be enough. Fourth, food campaigns should be restricted food advertising away from children. Fifth, Encouragement companies to produce healthy foods suitable for different age. Sixth, Food companies should give complete and clear information for their products. Finally, Parents should explain to their kids the truth about problems that came from junk food

5.0 References

Punam J R . 2004. Is Junk Food Healthy?/www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/Junk- Food.asp (Accessed May, 10, 2010).
Medical Dictionary. 2007, 2004. Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009, Overweight and Obesity in Australia www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/Content/overweight-obesity (Accessed , May, 9, 2010)
Miranda Hitti, 2008. Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food 's Popularity. ww.webmd.com/food- recipes/news/20081202/top-11-reasons-for-fast-foods-popularity (Accessed, May , 9,2010)
Christine Stencel. 2001. Calif. County Law Bans Toys in Unhealthy Kids’ Meals. National Academy of Sciences. wwnationalacademies.org/headlines/20100428 (Accessed May,11,2010)
Chapman, k., Nicholas, P,. and Supramaniam, R. How much food advertising is there on Australian television.Oxford University press
AMA calls for ban of junk food advertising on children’s TV.2009.Australian Medical Association ww.ama.com.au/node/4602 (Accessed May,12, 2010)
Overweight and obesity in Australia,2005. Parliament House www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/sp/obesity.htm ( Accessed May, 8, 2010)
Food Advertising to Children, 2008, www.daa.asn.au/index.asp?pageID=2145835520
( Accessed May, 10, 2010)
Childhood Obesity inAustralia,2009, wwhealthinsite.gov.au/news/Childhood _Obesity_in_Australia( Accessed May, 8, 2010)

Ray Dunne,2004. Should junk food ads be banned? news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3586585.stm (accessed May, 8, 2010)

Peter Lavelle. 2004. Ban junk food ads from kids ' TV?. www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2004/11/25/1251181.htm (accessed May 8 ,2010)

Appendix A

How much food advertising is there on Australian television?
RESULTS
Of the total 672 h of television recorded, 27 h were excluded owing to technical difficulties or human error during taping, resulting in a total of 645 h available for analysis. A total of 10 593 advertisements were analyzed, of which 3287 (31%) were food advertisements. Eighty-one percent of the food advertisements identified were for unhealthy/non-core foods, which equated to 25% of all advertisements screened between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
Advertising in metropolitan areas compared with regional areas
The metropolitan areas (Sydney and Brisbane) were found to screen a significantly higher proportion (2 = 29.7, P < 0.0001 with 1 degree of freedom) of total and unhealthy/non-core food advertisements than the regional areas studied (Tamworth and Ballarat) (Table 1). A similar number of healthy/core food advertisements were screened in each area
Table 1: Comparison of food advertising in metropolitan (Sydney and Brisbane) and regional (Tamworth and Ballarat) areas in Australia | Sydney | Brisbane | Tamworth | Ballarat | Mean for all areas | | Food ads as % of total ads | 38 | 35 | 27 | 22 | 31 | % of non-food ads | 62 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 69 | Healthy food ads as % of total ads | 8 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 6 | Unhealthy food ads as % of total ads | 30 | 30 | 21 | 18 | 25 | |

Comparison of the level of advertising of different subcategories of food
Once a food advertisement had been categorized as being a core or non-core food advertisement, it was subsequently grouped into one of several subcategories (Table 2). Between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. in all areas surveyed and on all three commercial television stations, an average of just over four unhealthy/non-core food advertisements were screened per hour, more than four times the number of healthy/core food advertisements

Comparison of the different levels of food advertising during different time slots between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The average number of unhealthy/non-core food advertisements screened per hour varied considerably over each day (Figure 1). On weekdays, the number of advertisements per hour increased throughout the day to peak at more than five advertisements per hour in the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. time slot. On Saturday, the early morning time slot was the most concentrated period for advertising unhealthy/non-core food with more than six advertisements screened per hour. This was significantly different from both the weekday and Sunday levels at the same time (2 = 6.89, P = 0.03 2 df). The 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. time slot screened the most unhealthy/non-core food advertisements per hour on Sunday.
Table 2: Food advertising on metropolitan and regional Australian television stations during the viewing hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m Food category | Number of advertisements | % of total foods advertised | Average number of advertisements per hour | | Bread & cereals | 72 | 2 | 0.11 | Fruit & veg | 140 | 4 | 0.22 | Dairy & dairy products | 124 | 4 | 0.19 | Meat & meat alternative | 106 | 3 | 0.16 | Core foods combined | 178 | 5.5 | 0.28 | Baby foods | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | Subtotal | 620 | 18.5 | 0.96 | Fast food & takeaway | 957 | 30 | 1.48 | Choc & confectionery | 422 | 13 | 0.65 | Miscellaneous non-core group foods | 320 | 10 | 0.50 | Snack food, savory crisps & pastries | 272 | 8 | 0.42 | Sweet B/fast cereals | 199 | 6 | 0.31 | Fats, spreads & sauces | 172 | 5 | 0.27 | Desserts | 110 | 3 | 0.17 | Alcohol | 55 | 1.5 | 0.09 | Fruit juice | 46 | 1 | 0.07 | High sugar drinks | 39 | 1 | 0.06 | Frozen/fried potato products | 23 | 1 | 0.04 | Cakes, biscuits | 23 | 1 | 0.04 | Baby formulae | 29 | 1 | 0.04 | Subtotal | 2667 | 81.5 | 4.13 | |

Comparison of the different levels of food advertising during different time slots between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.
The average number of unhealthy/non-core food advertisements screened per hour varied considerably over each day (Figure 1). On weekdays, the number of advertisements per hour increased throughout the day to peak at more than five advertisements per hour in the 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. time slot. On Saturday, the early morning time slot was the most concentrated period for advertising unhealthy/non-core food with more than six advertisements screened per hour. This was significantly different from both the weekday and Sunday levels at the same time (2 = 6.89, P = 0.03 2 df). The 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. time slot screened the most unhealthy/non-core food advertisements per hour on Sunday.
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Fig. 1 Comparison of the number of advertisements screened per hour during different time slots during the week and on weekend days.

The number of unhealthy/non-core food advertisements shown per hour decreased between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. (Table 3), with the highest level occurring between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. (5 advertisements per hour). Advertising of chocolate and confectionary was highest between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., whereas fast food and takeaway were advertised more in the evening time slots.

Table 3: Food advertising on metropolitan and regional Australian television stations during certain time slots between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on both weekdays and weekend days Food category | No. of ads per hour: 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. | No. of ads per hour: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | No. of ads per hour: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. | No. of ads per hour: 6 p.m. to 9pm | | Choc & confectionery | 0.95 | 0.59 | 0.63 | 0.63 | Fast food & takeaway | 0.98 | 1.19 | 1.88 | 2.01 | Cakes, biscuits | 0.00 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.06 | Sweet B/fast cereals | 0.41 | 0.29 | 0.27 | 0.32 | Snack food, savory crisps & pastries | 0.48 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.58 | High sugar drinks | 0.00 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.04 | Fruit juice | 0.20 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.00 | Frozen/fried potato products | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.06 | Fats, spreads & sauces | 0.20 | 0.24 | 0.33 | 0.29 | Desserts | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.41 | Alcohol | 0.00 | 0.06 | 0.23 | 0.05 | Baby formulae | 0.00 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 0.01 | Miscellaneous non-core group foods | 0.69 | 0.53 | 0.32 | 0.50 | Total | 3.97 | 3.69 | 4.35 | 4.96 | |

Overall, the level of food advertising shown on weekdays compared with weekends was identical. On the weekend, more advertisements were screened on Saturday (2852 advertisements) than Sunday (2418 advertisements), with more total and unhealthy/non-core food advertisements shown on Saturday.

Advertising breaches

A total of 194 suspected breaches were identified during analysis of the food advertisements, the majority of which occurred in metropolitan areas (Table 4). Significant variation in breach-frequency occurred over the specified time slots (2 = 18.4, P = 0.001, 4 df). Most (88%) of the breaches identified related to the misuse of premium offers to market a product, that is a breach of CTS 20.2a. Ten percent of the breaches related to the advertisement containing misleading information (CTS 17) and 2% were related to the advertisement implying the food would make the child superior to their peers (CTS 18.2a).

Table 4: The total number of suspected breaches and number of breaches per hour in the four surveyed time slots between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m | 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. | Total | | Sydney | 23 | 26 | 0 | 11 | 60 | Ballarat | 3 | 16 | 6 | 15 | 40 | Brisbane | 20 | 24 | 14 | 17 | 75 | Tamworth | 4 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 19 | Total Breaches | 50 | 72 | 20 | 52 | 194 | Breaches per hour | 0.54 | 0.26 | 0.15 | 0.37 | 0.33 | |

References: Punam J R . 2004. Is Junk Food Healthy?/www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/Junk- Food.asp (Accessed May, 10, 2010). Medical Dictionary Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009, Overweight and Obesity in Australia www.health.gov.au/internet/healthyactive/publishing.nsf/Content/overweight-obesity (Accessed , May, 9, 2010) Miranda Hitti, 2008. Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food 's Popularity. ww.webmd.com/food- recipes/news/20081202/top-11-reasons-for-fast-foods-popularity (Accessed, May , 9,2010) Christine Stencel Overweight and obesity in Australia,2005. Parliament House www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/sp/obesity.htm ( Accessed May, 8, 2010) Food Advertising to Children, 2008, www.daa.asn.au/index.asp?pageID=2145835520 ( Accessed May, 10, 2010) Childhood Obesity inAustralia,2009, wwhealthinsite.gov.au/news/Childhood _Obesity_in_Australia( Accessed May, 8, 2010) Ray Dunne,2004 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3586585.stm (accessed May, 8, 2010) Peter Lavelle www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2004/11/25/1251181.htm (accessed May 8 ,2010) Appendix A