Call to junk fast-food giveaways

PUBLIC health experts are leading a renewed push to stop toy giveaways with junk food.

A study of 900 Australian children aged five to nine, published in the journal Appetite, has revealed kids are more likely to choose a fast-food meal that comes with a free movie character toy.

“Children believed the meal with the toy looked better, would taste better and that they would feel happier if their parents bought them the meal,” said study author Helen Dixon, who is Cancer Council Victoria’s senior research fellow.

Dr Dixon said the powerful marketing tool frequently used by fast-food chains should be put to better use.

“Given the pester power parents face from their children, restricting toy premiums to healthy foods would harness this persuasive technique to support rather than undermine parents’ efforts to help their kids achieve a healthy diet,” she said.

Unhealthy foods contribute as much as 41 per cent of a child’s daily energy intake.

In the US, San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California banned restaurants from providing toy incentives with children’s meals that don’t meet set nutritional standards.