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Sydney principles for reducing the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children

Swinburn, Boyd, Sacks, Gary, Lobstein, Tim, Rigby, Neville, Baur, Louise A., Brownell, Kelly D., Gill, Tim, Seidell, Jaap and Kumanyika, Shiriki 2008, Sydney principles for reducing the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children, Public health nutrition, vol. 11, no. 9, pp. 881-886.

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Title Sydney principles for reducing the commercial promotion of foods and beverages to children
Author(s) Swinburn, Boyd
Sacks, Gary
Lobstein, Tim
Rigby, Neville
Baur, Louise A.
Brownell, Kelly D.
Gill, Tim
Seidell, Jaap
Kumanyika, Shiriki
Journal name Public health nutrition
Volume number 11
Issue number 9
Start page 881
End page 886
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Place of publication Cambridge, England
Publication date 2008-09
ISSN 1368-9800
1475-2727
Keyword(s) marketing
children
obesity
human rights
Summary A set of seven principles (the ‘Sydney Principles’) was developed by an International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF) Working Group to guide action on changing food and beverage marketing practices that target children. The aim of the present communication is to present the Sydney Principles and report on feedback received from a global consultation (November 2006 to April 2007) on the Principles.

The Principles state that actions to reduce marketing to children should: (i) support the rights of children; (ii) afford substantial protection to children; (iii) be statutory in nature; (iv) take a wide definition of commercial promotions; (v) guarantee commercial-free childhood settings; (vi) include cross-border media; and (vii) be evaluated, monitored and enforced.

The draft principles were widely disseminated and 220 responses were received from professional and scientific associations, consumer bodies, industry bodies, health professionals and others. There was virtually universal agreement on the need to have a set of principles to guide action in this contentious area of marketing to children. Apart from industry opposition to the third principle calling for a statutory approach and several comments about the implementation challenges, there was strong support for each of the Sydney Principles. Feedback on two specific issues of contention related to the age range to which restrictions should apply (most nominating age 16 or 18 years) and the types of products to be included (31 % nominating all products, 24 % all food and beverages, and 45 % energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and beverages).

The Sydney Principles, which took a children’s rights-based approach, should be used to benchmark action to reduce marketing to children. The age definition for a child and the types of products which should have marketing restrictions may better suit a risk-based approach at this stage. The Sydney Principles should guide the formation of an International Code on Food and Beverage Marketing to Children.
Language eng
Field of Research 111712 Health Promotion
Socio Economic Objective 970111 Expanding Knowledge in the Medical and Health Sciences
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2008, Cambridge University Press
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30017142

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