Full Consumers International press release embargo 0001 hours March 15 2008 can be downloaded from http://consint.live.poptech.coop/shared_asp_files/GFSR.asp?NodeID=97496

Obesity experts back junk food marketing ban

Obesity experts are throwing their weight behind new international standards to control the marketing of 'junk food' to children launched today (Saturday).

They are calling on food and soft drink manufacturers to adopt a global gold standard on marketing to help address the urgent need for measures to combat the growing epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity worldwide.

Prof Arne Astrup, President of the International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO), said the Association, representing 10,000 obesity specialists in 55 countries, backed the proposals for tough new measures to curtail the promotion of products that are high in fats, sugar and salt (HFSS) as well as sugar-laden soft drinks.

"The time has come for all concerned to recognize that an international code, enforceable in law, is the best way forward. Voluntary measures and individual pledges from some companies offer inadequate protection when children are being targeted on the internet, by mobile phone as well as via television, and especially in developing countries where these kinds of calorie-dense foods can have a devastating impact on children's health," added Prof Astrup, Head of Department at Department of Human Nutrition at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The proposed code would require a ban on all advertising of junk food and caloric soft drinks to children under 16 on television up to a 9 pm watershed and complete restrictions on internet promotions of junk food to children, where children's online games are often used as selling techniques. The use of celebrities and cartoons, already forbidden in Ireland, would also be prohibited.

The draft code was developed by Consumers International in conjunction with the International Obesity TaskForce (IOTF), the policy and advocacy arm of IASO. Dr Tim Lobstein, director of childhood obesity programmes, said the proposed code provided a model which provided a firm basis for the recommendations that WHO could place before health ministers.

"In a globalized world, broadcast advertising and marketing using the internet and other techniques know no borders. That's why it is vital that WHO provides strong leadership for an international code to set out the standards everyone should adhere to and to which individual countries can afford the force of law," added Dr Lobstein.

The IOTF drew up a framework, known as the Sydney Principles, calling for tough marketing standards to be backed by national legislation. The Sydney Principles were drafted by an IOTF group led by Prof Boyd Swinburn in Melbourne, Australia, based on an open consultation with fellow experts and contributions from the food industry and others.

International Obesity TaskForce chair, Prof Philip James, who is also President-elect of IASO, said: "We are seeing a very dramatic rise in childhood obesity all over the world. It is essential that food industry leaders as well as governments support the new standards we propose, which aim to curb the frequent marketing promotions to children which can habituate them to the kind of diets that contribute to this epidemic. We challenge the giants of the food and beverage industry to throw their weight behind this code and demonstrate that they really do want to be part of the solution and no longer part of the problem."

The World Health Organization was handed a mandate last year to draw up its own set of recommendations on marketing to children, and is expected to begin a consultation process with governments, industry and NGOs over the next 12 months.

Demands for action are growing around the world. In September health ministers in Europe agreed a Food and Nutrition Action Plan, which included a demand for an international code, whilst health ministers meeting in the Middle East region also adopted a tough resolution on calling for similar action. A pan-Asian Conference on Marketing of Food to Children in Bangkok,Thailand, called for new global standards to be adopted at the end of February, and in Ottawa on March 5th, an independent jury convened by the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada, called on the Canadian government to set a timetable to introduce compulsory measures.

In the UK, pressure is growing to reinforce the measures already adopted by Ofcom, the government regulator, which imposed restrictions on television advertising targeting under 16s, but fell short of adopting a 9pm watershed.

The Institute of Medicine in the USA, which produced an extensive report on Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity in 2006, is expected to seek a federal review of what action is needed after setting a two year deadline to see if voluntary restraints on advertising could have any real impact.

For further information or to arrange interviews contact:

Neville Rigby

Director of Policy and Public Affairs

International Association for the Study of Obesity/International Obesity TaskForce

Tel +442076911902

Mobile +447939250347

Email: nrigby@iaso.org

12/03/2008