Children are more likely to choose unhealthy foods over healthier products if they carry nutritional claims or endorsements from sporting stars, according to research.
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Researchers from Cancer Council Victoria asked 1300 Melbourne 11-year-olds to choose between an unhealthy food product and a comparable but healthier alternative. The packaging of the unhealthy food products contained either a nutrition claim such as ''high in calcium,'' an endorsement from a sports celebrity, an offer such as free movie tickets, or no promotion.
The study, published in Pediatric Obesity on Tuesday, showed a claim about nutrition increased the likelihood of the children choosing the unhealthy product by 80 per cent.
Endorsements from sporting personalities increased the likelihood of boys choosing the unhealthy product by 65 per cent. Sporting endorsements had little influence on girls, and offers such as free movie tickets did not seem to work on either gender.
Jane Martin, the executive manager of the Obesity Policy Coalition, an alliance of public health groups including Cancer Council Victoria, said the research showed there was a need for tougher regulation of junk food marketing.
''Nutrient content claims typically highlight selected positive nutritional characteristics of a product without including information on its unhealthy ingredients, so they can give the impression the food is healthier than it, in fact, is,'' she said. She also called on athletes to think twice before endorsing unhealthy foods.
A new national standard to regulate nutrition and health claims became law in January, but companies have three years to meet its requirements.
A spokesman for the Australian Food and Grocery Council said addressing obesity was about balancing the kilojoules people eat and drink with those they burn through activity.
''There needs to be a stronger emphasis on physical activity rather than censorship," the spokesman said.
