Children's Food Campaign launches parental survey on Junk Food Marketing

Chef and food campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whilttingstall has stepped up his personal crusade to make food healthier for children and famiiles on prime time BBC with the first of three episodes of Britain's Fat Fight broadcast on 25 April.

As he unleashed a group of young children to shop free of parental supervision in the supermarket aisles, Hugh reminded us of the sobering facts on child obesity: "There is one group that seems to be most at risk: our kids. Nearly 1/3 of children aged 2-15 are overweight or obese, and it's getting worse."

Barbara Crowther, co-ordinator of the Children's Food Campaign commented, "Britain's Fat Fight showed just how badly parents are being let down by a food industry that continues to use every tactic to make unhealthy sugary products attractive to children, from opaque labelling and child friendly cartoon characters splashed all over junk food packaging, to relentless special offers and in-store promotions, not to mention the junk food ads everywhere we look, and increasingly online and in games and apps."

Parents! Have Your Say!

This week, the Children's Food Campaign has launched a new Parents' Jury survey to provide a platform for mums and dads to share their views on the effect of junk food promotion on their children, and the need for tighter rules to protect children. 

"Parents' views are critically important in this debate," says Barbara. "We're keen to understand the levels of concern out there, and whether there are types of ads or marketing tactics they are particularly concerned about. Are they happy for toys and children's TV or film characters to be used to market these products? Should product labelling rules change? Are their children affected by ads on YouTube or other websites, or on billboards and bus shelters near schools? And most importantly, what do parents think the Government needs to do next?"

The results of the survey will be shared with key policy makers as part of the current review of government Childhood Obesity Plan as well as reviews of the current regulations broadcast and non-broadcast advertising of High Fat, Salt and Sugar products to under-16s.

Join the Survey now

The Junk Food Marketing survey is open to any parent, guardian or care-giver in the UK with children aged between 2-17. To take part, register with the Parents' Jury.

Register with the Parents' Jury

Share your Junk Food Ad examples

Take photos or screenshots of any examples of bad practice in advertising junk foods to kids that you'd like @childrensfood to know about - post them or tag us on the Children's Food Campaign Twitter or Facebook pages.