Mascots like Tony the Tiger trick kids into eating junk food, putting their health ‘at risk’ – National

Junk food characters like Tony the Tiger, the Pillsbury Doughboy and the popular Paw Patrol team help promote bad eating habits in Canadian children, according to new research.

The study, funded by Heart & Stroke and published Tuesday by researchers at the University of Ottawafound a connection between licensed cartoon characters (like Spiderman) and star characters (like Lucky the Pixie from Lucky Charms) to entice children to eat junk food.

5:38Targeting children in grocery stores, supermarkets with unhealthy foods

“Kids love the marketing techniques that are aimed specifically at them. So characters like Tony the Tiger and Snap, Crackle and Pop, who really have a big impact on kids,” said Monique Potvin Kent, associate professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of ‘Ottawa.

Potvin Kent, who was the lead author of the study, told Global News that the researchers found that children preferred products advertised with these characters and would ask their parents to buy them.

“The actual mechanic of why it works hasn’t been clarified except that they’re very lovable characters and they’re also familiar characters,” she said.

Cartoon characters, Potvin Kent warned, pose health threats to children.

6:15Is your teenager addicted to junk food?

“Children’s health is in danger. There is an obesity crisis happening, 30% of our children and adolescents are overweight or obese…the majority of their consumption comes from ultra-processed foods high in fat, sugar and salt,” said Potvin Kent.

“People want children to be healthy. It’s important so that they don’t develop chronic illnesses later.

The study researchers also wanted to know if character type made a difference in marketing to children.

To do this, they showed food ads to more than 1,300 Canadian children between the ages of 9 and 12 in January and February 2023., and measured their intentions to eat, buy, or bully their parents for it. They then analyzed the impact on children of cartoon characters licensed from popular media and flagship characters developed by food and beverage companies.

“Some kids saw star characters like Tony the Tiger, Pillsbury Doughboy and the Kool-Aid guy,” Potvin Kent said. “Whereas other kids have seen commercials for licensed characters…like Spiderman or Paw Patrol. And then some kids didn’t see any characters. Other advertisements were for products that would be aimed more at adults. »

The study found that children exposed to ads featuring featured characters had a significantly higher average total impact than those exposed to licensed characters.

Although not as powerful, the licensed characters still had a noticeable influence on children, exceeding the impact of ads without cartoon characters, according to the study.

Child and youth obesity rates across the country have nearly tripled in the past 30 years, according to Health Canada.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the major contributors to childhood obesity are linked to lifestyle issues, such as lack of exercise and regular consumption of high-calorie foods. However, genetic and hormonal factors may also play a role.

Obese children are more likely to develop a range of health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and depression.

“There is a childhood obesity crisis in Canada,” said Potvin Kent. “Food and beverage advertising to children is associated with childhood obesity.”

A 2017 Heart and Stroke Foundation Study found that more than 90% of food and drink advertisements viewed by children and teens online were for unhealthy products.

Potvin Kent said this means healthy foods are rarely promoted to children, while fast food, sweets, chocolate, sugary drinks and cereals dominate the advertising landscape.

0:31Ban on selling junk food

Consuming highly processed foods may contribute to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension and even the formation of certain cancers in children for life, due to the high sugar load, says Dr Tom Warshawski, BC pediatrician and president of the Childhood Obesity Foundation.

It can also create lifelong unhealthy eating habits, he added.

“And basically we let the food and drink industry create that environment for our kids,” he said. The environment we should create for children is one of healthy habits.

“It’s about eating good, nutritious food whenever you can. It’s about being physically active and moving your body, regardless of your weight.

Currently, food and beverage advertising to children is self-regulated by the food and beverage industry.

But, according to the Health Canada website, self-regulatory approaches have often proven ineffective in significantly reducing children’s exposure to food advertisements.

“Children are particularly vulnerable to advertising. Food advertising influences children’s food attitudes, preferences, purchase requests, consumption patterns and ultimately their overall health. Children in Canada are exposed to a large amount of advertising for foods containing sodium, sugars and saturated fats,” a Health Canada spokesperson said in an email to Global News.

“To better protect the health of this vulnerable population, we are working to introduce restrictions on the advertising of certain foods to children.”

In April, Health Canada has updated its proposal Amend the Food and Drug Regulations to restrict advertising to children of foods that promote excessive consumption of sodium, sugar and saturated fat.

2:56Canadian kids bombarded with online junk food ads

This includes television and digital advertisements for candies, chips, chocolates and soft drinks that target children under 13.

The policy update was currently seeking public opinion on the subject until June 12, 2023. The draft regulations will be published around winter 2024.

Another regulation is currently under discussion in Parliament, called Bill C-52which aims to prohibit the marketing of foods containing excessive amounts of sugar, sodium and saturated fat to children under 13 years of age.

In addition, the bill contains a provision that would require Health Canada to monitor the bill’s impact on the marketing of food and beverages to adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18.

The bill is currently awaiting third reading in the House of Commons.

While the University of Ottawa study researchers and Warshawski believe these bills and policy changes are a step in the right direction, they argued that more needs to be done.

“What’s missing is the fact that when you’re walking down the food aisle with your child under 12, or possibly older, products that are at eye level, like Frosted Flakes, are right there,” he said.

“And what this study indicates is that these characters, primarily the corporate ones, Tony the Tiger…he’s not selling carrots. Tony the Tiger basically sells candy in the form of breakfast cereal.

The researchers and Warshawski recommend that Canada go further in its regulations and ban these characters altogether.

For example, as part of the fight against childhood obesity, in 2018 Chile banned the use of cartoon characters on children’s food packaging, mainly sugary cereals.

“So those characters need to be retired or repurposed,” Warshawski said.