MP Nigel Griffiths’ Bill proposed to ban all junk food marketing that targets children, including the use of cartoon characters, games and child-friendly competitions on food and drink packaging. Andrew Gwynne attended the House of Commons debate on Friday to support this Bill, against a Tory and Lib Dem opposition that put the health of the advertising industry before the health of the UK’s children

Junk food marketing is pitting parents against their kids in a supermarket-aisle battle to see who is more cunning, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).  

A new survey of parents in the north of England has revealed the extreme tactics parents employ to avoid a junk food row on the supermarket front line:
a quarter ditch their kids for the shopping trip

• one in three try to bribe them by promising something else
• one in six give the confectionary aisle a wide berth
• one in seven make their partner to stay at home with the kids
  

Children are fighting back with stealthy trolley tactics of their own, with a third trying to sneak junk food into the supermarket trolley when their parents are not looking. 

With one in three English children overweight or obese, the BHF’s Food4Thought campaign is challenging MPs to make it easier for parents to choose healthier foods for their kids by supporting a ban on junk food marketing to children. 

Andrew Gwynne MP said:

“I think that it is important to support parents in the supermarket aisles, so that we can all help to prevent our kids from developing heart disease, type II diabetes and some forms of cancer.”

“Food advertising for children is unfairly pressuring parents to make shopping choices that they do not want to make. If we are going to tackle obesity in this country parents must be free to make the right choices for their children’s diets without the pressure of junk food marketing.”

BHF Director of Policy and Communications Betty McBride said:

“Modern cartoon superheroes need to harness their powers for good by promoting healthy foods to our children, rather than chocolate and crisps.

“Banning junk food pester power ammunition from supermarket shelves will make it easier for parents to make healthier food choices for their families.” 

The BHF Food4Thought survey revealed that the top three successful pester power marketing tactics include free toys or tokens, TV advertisements and cartoon characters on packaging. 

Parents are being asked to get their MPs involved by signing an online petition to ban junk food marketing that targets children at bhf.org.uk/donttargetmykids.