Watch out: this is how children become addicted to sugar
It is an alarming reality: more children worldwide now suffer from obesity than from being underweight, according to a recent report by UNICEF. Unbelievable, right? While millions of children go to bed hungry, others are being made ill by an abundance of cheap, unhealthy, sugary food. Marketing strategies aimed at children play a key role in this. Children become addicted to sugar through unhealthy advertising. Food watchdog Foodwatch is — rightly — sounding the alarm. It is high time for politicians to take action!
Marketing to children: make it stop
To be clear: we are against excessive paternalism and too much government interference, but when it comes to our children, we take action. Figures show that children worldwide see an average of five food advertisements per hour. And not just any advertising; these are ads for unhealthy, sugary snacks and junk food. Outrageous, right?
Culprits behind sugar addiction
The result of all these advertisements is that children are encouraged to choose unhealthy products, such as sugar bombs, influencing their eating habits from an early age. The impact of this marketing is enormous: it not only increases the risk of obesity, but also lays the foundation for addictions to sugar and salt that are difficult to break.
The addictive power of sugar
Sugar acts as an addictive substance because it increases dopamine production in the brain — the so-called ‘happiness hormone’ that prompts our body to want more of the same product. This creates a vicious cycle of craving and consumption, especially when children are repeatedly exposed to sugary products from an early age. This makes it increasingly difficult for children to develop healthy eating habits.
Covert advertising: the Snackles plush toys
Marketing practices are becoming increasingly sophisticated. One of the latest tricks in the battle to bind children to unhealthy food is the so-called Snackles plush toys. Foodwatch: “What appear to be cute, innocent stuffed animals actually carry the logos of unhealthy snack brands, such as Hershey’s, Subway and Pringles, making children familiar with these products from an early age.”
Using toys for marketing purposes is a major problem because toys are exempt from the few agreements companies have made as rules against marketing to children. It is a toy, not candy.
Will you take action too?
Foodwatch is demanding that politicians finally take decisive action and introduce a law against marketing to children that bans all these grey areas once and for all. Would you also like to help protect children from covert advertising for unhealthy junk? Sign the petition.
Also read:
- 10 hilarious advertisements from the past (with downright bizarre dietary advice)
- 12 favorite sweets from your childhood that you can still buy (and where to get them)
- 12 of our favorite food-related childhood memories
