Dear parents, I\u2019m writing you because you may be in the dark about the amount of unhealthy food and beverage marketing your kids are viewing. This is not your fault. It\u2019s our current reality. We\u2019ve let food and beverage companies have a huge influence on our children.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five years ago, a parent might be expected to see and control most if not all advertising their child was exposed to on network TV and at the grocery store. Today, for even the most conscientious parents, it\u2019s impossible to monitor \u2013 or even to recognize \u2013 the immense amount of food and beverage marketing directed at our kids.<\/p>\n
They are targeted by unhealthy food and beverage advertising on television, radio, in print, on billboards, in video games, and movies through product placement, and though sponsorship of events and teams. The ads frequently use celebrity endorsements, spokes-characters and licensed characters to appeal further to children. Kids are also targeted where they gather, such as in arenas and recreation centres \u2013 even in schools and hospitals.<\/p>\n
The situation has become worse.<\/p>\n
New forms of digital marketing allow children and teens to be targeted at a very low cost through food company websites, banner, pop-up and video ads on third-party websites, company apps, push notifications from apps, within-app ads and SMS (text) ads. Food marketing is also disguised as website content and integrated into posts by YouTube vloggers.<\/p>\n
Most food and beverage companies also have a strong presence on social media to allow them to interact with your child or teen. The use of adver-games is common \u2013 these are fun and addictive video games with integrated advertising that can keep kids exposed to advertising for hours without them (or their parents) even realizing it. Kids also become unwitting marketers themselves by forwarding links to their friends.<\/p>\n
These are not your grandmother\u2019s commercials.<\/p>\n
Digital marketing is different from traditional marketing. It frequently allows your child to interact with the product, it can use behavioural targeting (to track your child\u2019s behaviour and target ads accordingly) and geo-targeting (to target ads to your child\u2019s location). Finally, in contrast to television, where the Broadcast Code for Advertising limits advertising to no more than four minutes during a 30-minute children\u2019s show, exposure to food and beverage marketing in digital forms is limitless.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, my research team and I set out to discover the extent of online food and beverage marketing to Canadian kids. We expected big numbers, but the results were shocking.<\/a> Canadian children ages 2-11 collectively viewed 25 million food and beverage ads \u2013 over 90 percent of them for unhealthy items \u2013 in a single year, on the 10 most visited sites.<\/p>\n Food and beverage marketing works \u2013 but only for the companies, not for our children.<\/p>\n The evidence is clear that obesity rates are influenced by the amount of food and beverage marketing to which kids are exposed. Obesity in childhood puts them at far greater risk<\/a> for obesity as adults, as well as for many other health problems that can shorten their lives, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.<\/p>\n The food and beverage industry has a voluntary system that is supposed to ensure that unhealthy food marketing to children is limited. But it does not work. I have completed several research studies<\/a> evaluating the influence of self-regulation of food marketing<\/a>, and the results have shown convincingly that it has failed.<\/a><\/p>\n Fortunately, in Canada, we do have a model that works. Quebec has banned all commercial advertising to children 13 and under since 1980 in all media forms with few exceptions. Children in Quebec see fewer food and beverage ads, and they are not exposed to advertising for candy, sugary breakfast cereals or other child-targeted products. It is now time for the rest of Canada to follow suit. We should also expand the restriction to teenagers and ensure legislation covers the full scope of marketing.<\/p>\n All parents want to raise healthy children, but they need help to do so. Food and beverage marketing restrictions at the federal level would provide such support by reducing children\u2019s exposure to food advertising on television, online and in settings where children gather. There is ample evidence to back up the need for such restrictions.<\/p>\n Photo: Shutterstock, by Julien Tromeur.<\/span><\/p>\n Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it. <\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dear parents, I\u2019m writing you because you may be in the dark about the amount of unhealthy food and beverage marketing your kids are viewing. This is not your fault. It\u2019s our current reality. We\u2019ve let food and beverage companies have a huge influence on our children. Twenty-five years ago, a parent might be expected […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":254099,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T01:42:01Z","apple_news_api_id":"006e48f0-1b43-4716-8a53-616249d516fb","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T01:42:01Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AAG5I8BtDRxaKU2FiSdUW-w","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9362,9357,9372],"tags":[8521],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4245,4251],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[7077],"class_list":["post-265329","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economie","category-politiques-sociales","category-recent-stories-fr","tag-agrifood-fr","irpp-category-economie","irpp-category-politique-sociale","irpp-tag-agroalimentaire"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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