Junk food 'ads don't make kids fat'

(AAP) - TV junk food ads don't make kids fat, soft drink makers and advertisers have told an inquiry, but psychologists say advertising heavily influences what foods children eat.

And those aged under eight can't tell the difference between an ad and a TV program,
the Australian Psychological Society told the parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday.
The inquiry is considering a proposal to ban TV advertising for food and drink
during children's viewing hours. Under the draft law, the health minister could
grant exemptions for healthy food and beverages.
Australian Beverages Council chief executive Tony Gentile said there was no link
between obesity and advertising.
"I don't believe that advertising has any marked effect, or that there is any
evidence out there that it has a marked effect on obesity," he said.
"Why regulate something where there is no proof there is a cause and effect?"
Australian Association of National Advertisers executive director Colin Segelov said
advertising increased awareness of a product but did not boost consumption.
"It does not automatically increase consumption otherwise all you would need to do
is advertise to guarantee success," he said.
However, the Australian Psychological Society's Debra Rickwood said advertising to
children clearly influenced their food choices and the younger the child, the
greater the impact.
"Children under eight can't distinguish what is advertising and what's the show,"
Prof Rickwood said.
"The marketing of junk foods to children uses most of the psychological and social
techniques that we know to be effective in changing behaviour."
Currently, the bill proposed by the Australian Greens only covers free-to-air
advertising during programs classified as "C" or "P," for children's and
preschoolers' viewing.
Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance chairman Ian Olver said the bill
should include children's programs shown on pay television outside the "C" and "P"
viewing times, and the internet.
One in four children in Australia was obese, he said.
Mr Segelov said Prof Olver was wrong.
"If you believe that the rate of obesity amongst children is 25 per cent I would eat
this desk," he said.
The most recent government survey, taken last year, showed six per cent of children
were obese and 17 per cent were overweight.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said obesity rates had been growing during the
past three decades and food manufacturers had done nothing.
"We have seen it before. They move immediately into self-regulation mode when they
think there is a real threat that their advertising pushing junk food at children is
going to be curbed," he said.
"I hope that my fellow parliamentarians are not going to swallow that push from the
big food corporations."
But former Howard government communications minister Helen Coonan said heavy-handed
advertising bans had not worked well elsewhere.
"My recollection was that there wasn't any compelling evidence that would have
supported a legislated ban," she told Sky News.