A spotlight glows on immediate need for better regulation and honest marketing. New research suggests how supermarket catalogs are leading Australian parents leading to unhealthy packed foods for infants and toddlers.
Study: Marketing of commercial foods for infants and children in Australian supermarket catalogsImage Credit: Famved/Shutterstock.com
Supermarkets in Australia reduce commercially packed foods for infants and children, which potentially normalize unhealthy foods for young children. It was published in a recent study Health Promotion International.
Introduction
Australian infant feeding guidelines recommend special breastfeeding for up to six months, after which solid foods should be introduced. Like adults, children require a healthy diet. This should include fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains (core foods) while avoiding high -saturated fats, excessive salt, sugar and sodium (deed or “junk” foods) avoiding highly processed food.
Between one and three years, children should be fed all the main foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, meat or meat options, and dairy or dairy options). In fact, 80% of the Australian two -year -old children eat very few fruits and vegetables, and 60% regularly consume junk food treatment, mostly snacks and sweet drinks. These make one third of their total calorie intake.
Commercial places consistently push food marketing on consumers, mostly junk food. It decides children’s food preferences and food patterns. It also greatly affects how parents see and choose food products for children.
,The result is a food marketing environment that promotes unhealthy products at several points with a ‘passage for purchase’ of a consumer, extending consumers to unhealthy food behavior,
Australia has very little regulation for marketing infants and children targeted commercial foods, although sales are growing rapidly. The study refers to commercial infant and child foods packed as foods or drinks, which are clearly suitable for children under three years of age, which are other than the breastmilk option. In 2018, with US $ 2,111 million, infant and baby food items dominated the global market for food items. By 2026, the sales of the spout pack are expected to increase by 7.5%.
In addition to high in sugar and low in iron, these soft foods, if used too long, can prevent children from learning to eat and enjoying numb, non-sweet foods and can shape lifelong unhealthy food preferences.
In an Australian survey, one of the two parents reported that these foods included half of what their children ate. In addition to being delicious, self-feeding-friendly and inexpensive, parents felt that they were healthy and nutritious and appreciated not to cook or worry about food security. Parents’ anxiety and uncertainty about food preparation also contributes to food safety, especially among the single parents and families who experience socio -economic losses.
These foods and their marketing strategies are designed to target parents and carefuls of small children, especially young children, sometimes appeal to children themselves with packaging and messaging. The current study examined products and their marketing through supermarket catalogs.
Digital and paper catalogs are the basis of grocery purchases for 75% of Australian shopkeepers, often people woo people not to buy things, not in their list. Supermarket catalogs reach a large audience and attract average six minutes of attention. One in three people read them to cover them with cover.
Study conclusion
The current study used weekly catalogs from four major Australian supermarket chains (Aldi, COLES, IGA, and Woolworths) – represented for 12 sequence, representing 70% of the Australian market. Aldi’s catalogs were the most widely read, although in this study, Aldi showed CIFT promotion in only one catalog.
type of food
Researchers analyzed more than 2,000 pages from 60 different catalogs. Overall, 63% of catalogs promoted food or drinks, mostly junk food (56%). Baby and baby foods included 3.5% of all pages, which were promoted to 49 pages in the catalog.
While some changes are more nutritious than others, most of the products promoted were discretionary and often incorrectly with guidelines between some main food categories. Even many commercial foods are marketed as ‘core’ or nutritious options for infants and toddlers
While 74% targeted infants, 26% were labeled for children aged 12 – 36 months, and 21% was labeled as suitable for infants aged four months. These supplementary foods should be used only from six months to two years.
One Elde’s catalog had eight items, six sweets and two snacks in a single page. At the same time, 92% of the Coles of Cole included propaganda for 54 different items. In the promotion of all infant and child’s food, fruit puree, mainly for infants, included 40%, while snacks and sweets were responsible for 27% and 12% promotion respectively.
However, the exact stock varies between supermarkets. Woolworths had 44% of fruit puree and snack promotion, IGA had 56% and 5%, and Kols painted 31% and 39% in its list.
Packaging
Pouch made 50% of all packaging types, which is used for 59% of foods for baby consumption, but only 20% for toddlers. For baby foods, boxes were the most common packaging, accounting for 47%.
Techniques
Marketing techniques included a child -related lessons or images, health -related text and low price (95%) using images of healthy foods. Catalogs and food packaging carry views of main foods, infants, toys and other props, with 90% on the same page other everyday baby products such as wipes or diapers.
Commercial child’s other commonly used baby or baby products generally normalize their use and focus the parents’ focus away from core foods. This placement, with labeled some products as suitable from the age of four months, can reduce breastfeeding recommendations that advocate exclusive breastfeeding until the age of six months.
Many parents usually provide ultra-produced snacks to very young children. These snacks replace healthy, iron -rich foods in the diet, which increases the risk of lack of micronutrients. In many cases, with these foods -preaching for baby formula or toddler milk drinks, potentially discouraged breastfeeding.
Most are marketed with misleading on-pack labeling, for example, claimed to be a preservation-free. This type of claim creates a “health halo”, making it healthy compared to products. Research suggests that it is especially inspiring families with three or more children or the levels of high stress and time pressure.
Global Health Organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO) have made efforts to direct food marketing for young children. Nevertheless, most of these foods do not meet the Australian Food Guidelines or WHO guidelines.
conclusion
Paying attention to infancy and early childhood diet patterns promotes learning for a lifetime healthy eating habits. Nevertheless, most commercial foods for infants and children are unhealthy and promote negative nutrition patterns and food behavior.
Although a minority of catalog pages portrayed cifts, placement and marketing techniques may affect parents to affect infants and children to feed packed foods instead of encouraging food and snacks prepared from full foods.
This supermarket catalog should encourage policies to reduce propagation, which helps parents to avoid misinformation and choose healthy foods for their young children. They should try “ Reduce the unhealthy effects of food marketing on children’s diet and re -prepare this powerful marketing medium.,
It is important to note that the study was focused on major supermarket chains and digital catalogs and did not examine small retailers or other marketing channels. The author also accepts that content alone cannot prove direct effects on purchase or diet behavior. These limitations should be considered when interpreting the conclusions.
