More than 70% of parents with children aged between four and 16 years have been pressurised into buying them junk food, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has found.
The survey of 2,100 parents found that 44% of parents in Wales said they had been pestered by their children to buy them food they had seen advertised on television. 42% of parents also believed that the marketing of junk food was preventing their children from achieving a healthy diet.
A third of children in Wales are currently ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’, increasing their risk of heart disease and stroke in later life, BHF said.
It is releasing the findings of the study ahead of its Heart Month campaign in February, and claims that it is the responsibility of government and food manufacturers to reduce children’s dependencies on unhealthy diets.
Mike Hobday, director of policy at BHF, said: “Regulations for TV and online advertising in the UK are weak. Loopholes in the system mean that every day millions of children are exposed to sophisticated marketing techniques specifically designed to lure them into unhealthy eating habits.
“This evidence shows that junk food ads are having a detrimental impact on children’s behaviour and are hindering parents’ efforts to get their children to eat healthily.
“We cannot allow companies to continue exploiting holes in the system at the expense of our children’s health. The Government must act now to help give children a stronger chance at fending off future heart disease.”
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