Canadian marketing of unhealthy food to kids ‘astonishing’: study

Marketing strategies for unhealthy food and beverages geared toward children in Canada is cause for concern, according to new research.

A new study funded by Heart & Stroke and carried out by the University of Waterloo compiled data from over 2,000 restaurants and 800 food stores nationwide. It looked at different tactics companies use to market their products directly to children.

Leia Minaker, the author of the report, says researchers were “astonished” by how frequently children are the targets of ads.

“While we expected to see marketing to kids in Canadian stores, we were surprised by the breadth of techniques employed by food and beverage marketers,” she said.

New research from @UWaterloo reveals #Marketing2Kids is ubiquitous in point-of-sale locations across Canada, like grocery stores, restaurants and corner stores.
Read more: https://t.co/IoXzFDF9p3.#cdnpoli #cdnhealth @envwaterloo @LeiaMinaker pic.twitter.com/Ap34T9h3Rb

— Heart & Stroke (@HeartandStroke) March 21, 2023

The bar for “unhealthy,” according to the report, is foods and drinks that are high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. The study notes that food producers, retailers, and restaurants invest heavily in point-of-sale marketing toward children, but little is known about the extent of it.

The research found that half of the ads outside of stores and 41 per cent of those outside of restaurants utilize at least one child-directed marketing technique, most often for unhealthy products. These techniques use certain themes that appeal to children as well as branded characters.

Once inside the stores, the study found that the marketing aimed at kids ramps up. Over half (53 per cent) of stores are said to have “junk food power walls” at checkout, where products are within a child’s reach. Further, nearly every store has some sort of unhealthy food available at the cashier’s till.

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These walls, the study says, encourage “pester power,” which is when a child will nag their parent to make an impulse purchase. It’s just one example of the power of kids’ marketing.

In restaurants, the research found that children’s menus also marketed more unhealthy foods. It was found there were 50 times more unhealthy children’s entrees on the menu compared to healthy ones, with over half including an unhealthy beverage choice.

Doug Roth, the CEO of Heart & Stroke, says the findings show food marketers do not have the health of kids in mind.

“Given the high proportion of child-directed marketing observed in both stores and restaurants in this Canadian research, it’s clear that policies aimed to restrict marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to kids– something long promised by the federal government– should include point-of-sale locations,” he said.