Young people's views on non-broadcast advertising of foods high in fat, sugar and salt

Abstract

Background In December 2017 following a consultation process, the Committee of Advertising Practice, who regulate UK non-broadcast advertising announced that new restrictions for non-broadcast advertising for foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) would be introduced to protect the health and well-being of children and young people. Ahead of submitting to this consultation, we set out to garner the views of young people on the proposed regulations. Methods We conducted 15 focus groups with sixty-five 12-15 year olds living in the UK. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling from initial local adult contacts and all groups were audio-recorded. Topics related to the consultation areas of interest. We presented broadcast and non-broadcast advertising to stimulate discussion. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Results We found that young people recalled advertising for products HFSS across a range of non-broadcast media. They reported rarely viewing live TV broadcasts, or receiving parental oversight of their viewing habits. Although they were sceptical of marketing practices, and discussed strategies to avoid advertising, they stated that they were influenced by celebrities, compelling advertising techniques, competitions and peer endorsement. Young people were also exposed to marketing in settings outside the remit of the code through product packaging, restaurant competitions and price promotions. Conclusions We conclude that existing rules surrounding non-broadcast advertising were too lax and that these needed to be strengthened to fully protect children. Changes to the rules will not cover all settings where young people are exposed to marketing.