Fast food told to junk sport deals

MILO cricket, McDonald’s swimming and Subway Little Athletics are in the sights of health groups calling for an end to loopholes that allow unhealthy food to be promoted to children.

The end of junk food sponsorship of junior sports is one of several measures being called for by the Obesity Policy Coalition in its new report slamming the industry’s selfregulation process.

While national advertising codes introduced in 2011 dictate unhealthy foods could not be directly marketed to children, the standards do not cover sports sponsorships, packaging or in-store promotions.

Companies can also decide for themselves which products they consider unhealthy — meaning they are free to pitch high-sugar cereals, ice creams and biscuits as long as they categorise them as “healthier”.

In other cases, food companies have successfully argu- ed childlike cartoons used in their campaigns are not meant to appeal to children, but rather to a sense of nostalgia for adults.

Obesity Policy Coalition executive manager Jane Martin said just as the waistlines of Australian children continued to grow, so too did the loopholes being exploited by food companies.

“Self-regulation has been in place for almost 10 years now and obviously they are failing to protect kids when we need controls on marketing more than ever,” she said.

As the Senate examines Australia’s obesity epidemic, the OPC’s Overbranded, Underprotected report labels existing “sham rules” as a major contributor that must be abandoned.

With 27 per cent of Australian children above a healthy weight, the report found children were directly exposed to junk food through sports sponsorships such as Milo Cricket.