According to Fast Food Facts 2013, children under six watched almost three adverts for fast foods every day, while 12- to 17-year-olds saw almost five. Amidst the obesity debate, concerns over how children consume media have crossed into new territory as it becomes increasingly difficult to regulate online advertising.
A joint campaign between the British Heart Foundation and the Children's Food Campaign is calling for a ban against broadcasting fast food adverts before 9pm, but are children turning off the TV only to surf the internet? According to a study by Child Wise nearly half of those aged five to 16 have internet access in their rooms. Although it's taken prevalence in recent media, fast food isn't a standalone issue, with matters around sexual stereotyping, violence and body image causing concern too.
In this podcast our panel discusses the state of regulation in the UK, what brands and marketeers need to adhere to, and how the prevalence of online entertainment is changing the regulatory state of play. Is it down to parents and educators to arm children with media literacy or should advertisers be playing a more active role?
On the panel
Ian Barber, director of communications at the Advertising Association
Paul Robinson, chief executive of PR Media Consulting and co-founder of KidsCoTV
Bo Viktor Nylund, senior adviser for corporate social responsibility at Unicef
Chris Arnold, creative director and co-founder of brand and marketing agency Creative Orchestra, author of Ethical Marketing and the New Consumer
This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional in association with Unicef. Become a GSB member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox
