Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 4) – The World Health Organization urged governments worldwide to craft strong policies to protect children from advertisements of food high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and salt (HFSS).
“Calls to responsible marketing practices have not had a meaningful impact. Governments should establish strong and comprehensive regulations, ” Francesco Branca, director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety of WHO, said Tuesday in a statement.
“Aggressive and pervasive marketing” of HFSS food and beverages affects a child’s dietary choice, he added
According to WHO, the policies that will be implemented should be mandatory, protect children of all ages and restrict the power of food marketing to persuade.
The policies should also direct governments to create a nutrient profile model to classify food to be restricted from marketing and manage advertisements from other media forms.
Restriction in food advertisements involves limiting the use of cartoons or techniques that appeal to children, such as including toys with products, advertising with songs, and celebrity endorsements.
