Why doctors are calling for stricter rules on junk food advertising aimed at children

A packet of chips opened as an after-school snack, a sugary drink picked up just before a hard trek, the crunch of a burger patty or fries.

These everyday moments may seem harmless, but watching your favourite celebrities endorsing them captures children’s attention long before they understand how advertising works.

Children see these persuasive endorsements across television screens, mobile phones, gaming apps, social media feeds, sports sponsorships, and on billboards for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS).

The result is more than a craving for the latest snack - it is the gradual shaping of lifelong food preferences.

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With childhood obesity and diet-related diseases on the rise worldwide, health experts have been calling for stronger action to reduce children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing.

The situation, they say, is worse in India, where the number of people with diabetes and obesity is rising. Making the scenario more complex is the double challenge of undernutrition and obesity.

“It is no longer simply about what children eat. It is about the environment in which they are growing up,” says Dr Arun Gupta, Convener, Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi).

“Most foods that are aggressively advertised are industrially processed food products, and most of them are unhealthy,” Dr Gupta adds.

Advertising that works - especially on children

Experts say unhealthy food is often marketed as fun, rewarding, and aspirational, leading children to associate those products with happiness, friendship, and success.

Young children often cannot distinguish between entertainment and marketing, while older children and teenagers are heavily influenced by celebrity endorsements and influencers.

“Research has consistently shown that exposure to junk food advertising increases children’s preference for unhealthy foods, encourages higher calorie consumption and influences purchase requests made to parents,” says Dr Rekha Harish, former professor and head of the department of paediatrics, GMC Jammu and HIMSR Delhi.

The health cost

Poor diets in childhood are linked not only to obesity but also to high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, dental decay and poor mental health in later years.

Excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods can also displace healthier foods rich in protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals, which are essential for growth and brain development.

A single fast-food meal could add 160 and 310 extra kilocalories to the daily caloric intake of teenagers and younger children, respectively. This food lacks essential vitamins, such as A and C, as well as minerals, including magnesium and calcium, leading to deficiencies, osteoporosis, and dental caries due to higher sugar intake. Many foods also contain hazardous colouring agents and unhealthy trans fats.

Health professionals warn that eating habits formed during childhood often continue into adulthood, increasing the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses.

An excess of calories, sugar, fat, salt, and other carbohydrates can cause constipation and gut issues.

Fast-food intake more than three times a week can lead to atopic disorders such as asthma, eczema, or rhinitis, while asthma severity is almost 40 per cent higher in teenagers and more than 25 per cent higher in younger children.

Some studies have shown that eating junk food four to six times a week is associated with lower maths and reading skills.

“Addiction is also a problem. Eating a lot of fast food in childhood makes it hard to eat healthy later in life,” said Dr Harish.

The ‘Junk the Junk Food Ads’ campaign

Parents are frequently advised to simply say “no” to junk food. But public health experts argue that this places an unfair burden on families while enormous sums are spent on marketing directly to children.

Against this backdrop, health advocates, paediatricians and civil society organisations have launched the Junk the Junk Food Ads campaign, calling for stronger regulation of unhealthy food marketing aimed at children.

“The campaign argues that children should have the right to grow up free from aggressive advertising promoting foods high in sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. Rather than placing responsibility solely on parents, it urges policymakers to create healthier food environments by restricting advertising across television, digital platforms, schools, and sporting events,” says Dr Sivaranjani Santosh, a renowned paediatrician instrumental in starting the campaign.

Dr Santosh faced online trolling by fans of a popular Korean music band, as campaigners tore up advertisements featuring popular celebrities endorsing such products.

The doctors, however, say this campaign is not new.

“We have been raising concerns for years about the irresponsible behaviour of celebrities and media personalities who promote unhealthy food products,” says Dr Harish. “If you don’t consume these products and don’t give them to your own children, why promote them to millions of other children?” she adds.

Doctors say the government had promised stricter regulations in 2017, which have not yet been implemented. This campaign is the beginning of a broader advocacy effort.

“We will write to the Ministries of Health and Information & Broadcasting and mobilise doctors from across the country to push for stronger regulations,” Dr Gupta says.

What is happening in the rest of the world?

Several countries have already introduced restrictions on junk food advertising directed at children.

The United Kingdom has announced measures to limit the advertising of less healthy foods. Other countries, including Chile, Norway, and Portugal, have implemented varying levels of restrictions alongside front-of-pack nutrition labelling.

The WHO has repeatedly recommended reducing children’s exposure to marketing of unhealthy foods as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity.

Public health researchers say such measures work best when combined with healthier school meals, nutrition education, food labelling and improved access to affordable healthy foods.