NCD commission chair: Nix harmful food advertising

Businesses shouldn’t be able to promote harmful foods to children, the head of the Non-Communicable Diseases Commission said Thursday as a childhood obesity prevention campaign rolled out to schools.

Declaring the launch of the School Nutrition Policy in 2023 was arguably a success for the group and doctors who have pushed for years to cut the number of sugary drinks in schools, Bulbulia said more needs to be done to address the daily advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks to children.

He told reporters: “One of the concerns that we have with the school nutrition policy being rolled out, is that constant direct marketing to young people, to children, of unhealthy foods and snacks. It is something that is addressed in our school nutrition policy, but not yet a major [piece of legislation]. I would like to see that as major policy; we don’t direct alcohol and tobacco ads to young people, that is forbidden in our society.

“Unhealthy foods and snacks should also fall into that category because that is causing untold disasters in our society and our people as they grow older. We find that there are earlier onsets of diabetes and NCDs that are coming on, so we want to see now that the policy expands itself into other areas of making sure that our young people are safeguarded from unhealthy foods and snacks.”

The NCD Commission chair was speaking at the Childhood Obesity Prevention Programme’s launch of its Cool School Tour for 2024.

The campaign will see youth advocates attached to the Childhood Obesity Prevention Programme visiting schools throughout the year to educate students on the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.

The commission chair said the promotion of harmful food products to youngsters remains a persistent issue, despite receiving positive feedback from teachers, students and parents to the campaign.

Bulbulia suggested a raft of measures used elsewhere could be adopted to prevent advertising foods high in sugar, salt and fat to children: “In other jurisdictions, you would see that there are policies that restrict advertising in certain places. You would see that there are policies that restrict these types of companies from going into schools and having sponsorships and so on. You see advertising on television being restricted to a certain time of the day.

“There are a number of policies, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, it is there around the world that we can borrow and look at and make it our own.”

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb