scholarly journals Composition of ready-to-eat-cereals and their eligibility for marketing to children. How much does Cyprus deviate from the WHO Nutrient Profile Model?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-67
Author(s):  
Stella Antoniou ◽  
Georgia Hadjimichael ◽  
Arsenios Tselengidis ◽  
Victoria Virginia Beeks

Background: Governments have introduced legislative activities, such as restricting marketing to children of foods high in fat, sugar and/or salt, to curb the childhood obesity burden. In the European Region, the World Health Organization (WHO/Europe) has facilitated them with the development of the Nutrient Profile Model (WHO/Europe-NPM). Cyprus is the country with the highest childhood obesity rates in the Region.  Nonetheless, it does not currently restrict marketing to children. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the composition of ready-to-eat-cereals (RTECs), a fat, sugar and/or salt dense food product category on the Cypriot market and to examine whether the marketing of these products to children should be permitted according to the WHO/Europe-NPM. Methods: Two hundred RTEC samples from four national food retailers were collected from March to April 2018. The samples were assessed for their nutritional quality with the use of the WHO/Europe-NPM and statistical comparisons were performed between child-targeted and non-child-targeted RTECs. Results: The average content of sugar and salt was significantly higher in “child-targeted” than in “non-child-targeted” RTECs. 87.3% of the “child-targeted” RTECs would not be permitted for marketing to children according to the WHO/Europe-NPM and 73.5% of the overall sample exceeded at least one of the WHO/Europe-NPM recommendations for fat, sugar and/or salt. Conclusions: In case of the implementation of any marketing restriction legislation domestically in the future, most of the RTECs currently sold in Cyprus would not be permitted to be marketed to children according to the WHO/Europe-NPM. Incorporating marketing restrictions in the health policy agenda and adopting the WHO/Europe-NPM may improve the childhood obesity rates in Cyprus.

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Meidlinger ◽  
Christian Luipersbeck ◽  
Melanie U. Bruckmüller ◽  
Birgit Dieminger-Schnürch ◽  
Bernadette Bürger-Schwaninger ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroduction:Children are exposed to marketing of foods with a high content of energy, fat, sugar and salt on a daily basis, which can have negative consequences via increasing children's preferences for those foods. An unhealthy diet can promote obesity and other noncommunicable diseases. The objective of this scientific work was to assess the applicability of the nutrient profile model (NPM) for food products available in the Austrian market. The model was developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe to reduce the impact of marketing to children.Material and Methods:The NPM was applied to food product information, which was recorded for the project “Food in the Spotlight” (www.lebensmittellupe.at). Food products were assigned to food categories made by the WHO and the NPM was applied to identify products, which should not be allowed to be marketed to children. As the WHO NPM is flexible and can be adapted to the national context possible adaptations of the model to the Austrian market were developed.Results:Among those product groups which were included in Food in the Spotlight 0% of cocoa (n = 89), milk drinks with additional ingredients (e.g. strawberry milk, n = 111), soup pearl croutons (n = 13), ketchups (n = 79) and pestos (n = 119), 0.4% of soft drinks (Cola, lemonade etc., n = 454), 8% of pizza and pizza-like products (n = 274), 13% of yoghurt products with additional ingredients (n = 611), 18% of sugos (n = 193), 28% of fruit and vegetable purees (n = 36) and 33% of breakfast cereals (n = 678) were found to be eligible for marketing to children. Those 0.4% of soft drinks which would be allowed are two waters flavoured with aroma. Pure products such as whole milk and yoghurts with 3.5% fat would not be allowed because they exceed the thresholds for total fat. For those products with a packaging appealing to children and adolescents almost none passed the NPM.Conclusion:Our results showed, that before the NPM can be implemented in Austria, it is important to adapt the model to national dietary guidelines. Additionally, food categories could be modified to be more suitable for the Austrian market, as some products which are common in Austria could not be easily assigned to the WHO food categories. To adapt the WHO NPM to the national context cooperation between health experts and food manufacturers is necessary.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Silvano Gallus ◽  
Elisa Borroni ◽  
Chiara Stival ◽  
Sharanpreet Kaur ◽  
Sofia Davoli ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: Previous studies from European countries noted that food products promoted on TV for children did not comply with international guidelines, including the World Health Organization European Nutrient Profile Model (WHO-ENPM) and the EU Pledge Nutrition Criteria (EU-PNC, an initiative developed by leading food companies). We aim to provide new data from Italy. Design: Evaluation of Italian TV advertisements. Data on nutritional values for food product advertised were compared with nutritional standards issued by the WHO-ENPM and the EU-PNC. Setting: In total, 180 h of TV programmes from six Italian channels, 2016–2017. Participants: Eight hundred and ten consecutive advertisements during children’s programmes. Results: Out of 810 advertisements, 90 (11·1 %) referred to food products. Among these, 84·5 % of the foods promoted did not meet the WHO-ENPM and 55·6 % the EU-PNC guidelines. Advertisements promoting sweet and salty snacks (i.e. ≥ 70 % of all foods) v. other food products showed higher non-compliance with both the WHO-ENPM (OR: 73·8; 95 % CI: 4·09, 1330) and the EU-PNC (OR: 9·21; 95 % CI: 2·82, 30·1). Conclusions: In Italy, most food advertisements during children’s programmes are not compliant with European nutritional standards. Almost all the advertisements for snacks do not meet international guidelines. As the WHO-ENPM guidelines do not propose standards for all the food products, including meals, there is an urgent need to define independent and easy-to-read guidelines for food advertisements targeting children. As a first step towards the complete ban of food advertisements targeting children recommended by other researchers, these guidelines should be enforced by all the TV broadcasts.


Author(s):  
Charlene Elliott ◽  
Natalie Scime

Marketing unhealthy food and beverages to children is a pervasive problem despite the negative impact it has on children’s taste preferences, eating habits and health. In an effort to mitigate this influence on Canadian children, Health Canada has developed a nutrient profile model with two options for national implementation. This study examined the application of Health Canada’s proposed model to 374 child-targeted supermarket products collected in Calgary, AB, Canada and compared this with two international nutrient profile models. Products were classified as permitted or not permitted for marketing to children using the Health Canada model (Option 1 and Option 2), the WHO Regional Office for Europe model, and the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) model. Results were summarized using descriptive statistics. Overall, Health Canada’s Option 1 was the most stringent, permitting only 2.7% of products to be marketed to children, followed by PAHO (7.0%), WHO (11.8%), and Health Canada’s Option 2 (28.6%). Across all models, six products (1.6%) were universally permitted, and nearly 60% of products were universally not permitted on the basis of nutritional quality. Such differences in classification have significant policy and health-related consequences, given that different foods will be framed as “acceptable” for marketing to children—and understood as more or less healthy—depending on the model used.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olha Bobrykovych

Obesity has become one of the most urgent social problems worldwide. Continuous and rapid increase in obesity rates is considered by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic. Obesity affects children as well; the World Health Organization recognized childhood obesity as an acute public health crisis. Childhood obesity is often accompanied by arterial hypertension, hyperlipidemia and disorders of        carbohydrate metabolism resulting in symptom complex – metabolic syndrome. While teaching the problems of metabolic syndrome in children to interns, a significant attention is paid to risk factors, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of syndrome. Such approach will allow future pediatricians to diagnose and prevent the development of early complications of metabolic syndrome in children timely.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget Kelly ◽  
Rebecca Bosward ◽  
Becky Freeman

BACKGROUND Food is one of the most frequently promoted commodities and promoted foods are overwhelmingly unhealthy. Marketing normalises unhealthy foods, creates positive brand images and encourages overconsumption. Limited research is available to describe the extent of food marketing to children on online media and measuring actual exposure is challenging. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to monitor the extent of children’s exposure to online media food marketing, as an essential step in increasing the accountability of industry and governments to protect children. METHODS Children aged 13-17 were recruited in October 2018-March 2019. Children recorded their mobile device screen for two weekdays and one weekend day anytime they visited relevant online platforms. After each day, participants uploaded video files to a secure server. Promoted products were defined using the World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Region nutrient profile model. RESULTS The sample of 95 children uploaded 267.8 hours of video data. Children saw a median of 17.4 food promotions each hour online. Considering usual time online on mobile devices, children would be exposed to a median of 168.4 food promotions online on mobile devices per week, 99.5 of which would not be permitted to be marketed based on nutrient profiling criteria. Most promotions (58.8%) were peer endorsed and derived from third parties sources. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to brand content that is seemingly endorsed by peers or online communities likely heightens the effects of marketing on children. Regulations to protect children from this marketing must extend beyond paid advertising to paid content in posts generated through online communities and influencers. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estefania Simoes ◽  
Joanna Correia-Lima ◽  
Elie Leal de Barros Calfat ◽  
Thais Zélia dos Santos Otani ◽  
Daniel Augusto Correa Vasques ◽  
...  

Objective: Childhood obesity is a growing concern as the World Health Organization (WHO) states that ~10% of adolescents worldwide are overweight or obese. This condition is the reflex of energy imbalance between the calories consumed and those expended. Sex-related responses associated with dyslipidemia, hormonal alterations, and neuro-humoral disruptions in childhood obesity are the focus of the present investigation.Methods: Ninety-two Brazilian adolescents were enrolled and divided between obese and eutrophic groups. Obesity was assessed using body mass index Z-score according to age and weight. Anthropometrical analyses, blood pressure, blood lipids, metabolism-regulating hormones, and neuropeptides were carried out.Results: Systolic blood pressure was higher in female and male patients with obesity. Obese females presented alterations in lipid profile and an augment of cardiovascular disease prediction ratios TC/HDL, TG/HDL, LDL/HDL, and VLDL/HDL. The levels of leptin, GIP, and neuropeptide showed sex-dimorphism in obesity. The obese adolescents presented increased levels of circulating insulin, c-peptide, amylin, glucagon, and GLP-1. Correlation analysis showed significant linearity between body mass index, blood pressure, lipids, lipoproteins, hormones, and neuropeptides content.Conclusions: Our data support an existing link associating hypertension, dyslipidemia, and neuro-hormonal imbalance in childhood obesity. We also described a sex-dependent pattern in childhood obesity-associated dyslipidemia and blood pressure in female patients with obesity solely.


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