Children’s Nutrition and Food Advertising: Health vs. Advertisement
Introduction
In today’s digital age, our children are no longer dependent only on home or school meals. Nowadays, they are continuously influenced by TV, YouTube, mobile games, and social media. According to an estimate, our children are exposed to more than 20 junk food advertisements a day, which develops unhealthy eating habits from childhood. If this is not controlled, obesity and lifestyle-related diseases begin to appear at an early age.
Impact of Advertisements on Children
The impact of advertisements on children is deep and widespread:
1. Excessive Exposure – Many times, exposure to inappropriate food and drink content spoils their taste.
2. Pester Power – Because of advertisements, children repeatedly demand junk food from us.
3. Unhealthy Eating Habits – When children eat junk food repeatedly, they stop liking homemade food and begin to dislike it.
4. Risk of Lifestyle Diseases – Some studies suggest that when children’s diets become high in sugar and fat, the risk of obesity and type-2 diabetes increases many times.
Rising Obesity and Diabetes Statistics
Global View
The rate of overweight and obesity among children and youth aged 5 to 19 years was around 8% in 1990, which reached nearly 20% in 2022, and the obesity rate continues to rise day by day.
Obesity has increased tenfold from 1975 to 2022— from 0.7% to 6.9% in girls and from 0.9% to 9.3% in boys.
By 2024, the number of overweight children under 5 years was about 35 million, nearly half of them in Asia.
According to a study, between 1990 and 2022, the rate of obesity among children and adolescents increased fourfold—from 1.7% to 6.9% in girls, and from 2.1% to 9.3% in boys.
India’s Scenario
The exact rate of overweight and obesity among 5–19-year-olds is not available, but a scoping review published in 2025 reported that overweight and obesity cases among Indian adolescents are rapidly increasing.
Talking about diabetes: In 2022, about 95,600 children (under 14 years) were affected by Type 1 diabetes, making India the highest in the South-East Asia region.
Type 2 diabetes is also increasing— in 2021, its rate among children and adolescents was 397 per 100,000, ranking second globally.
Pre-diabetes/type 2 diabetes prevalence— 12.3% in Indian adolescent boys and 8.4% in girls.
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MAHA Commission’s Suggestion (USA)
In the USA, the “Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission” has recommended banning advertisements of junk food and sugary drinks targeted at children. This initiative includes promoting healthy food options—such as fruits, vegetables, and balanced grains—along with providing nutrition education to parents and schools.
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Industry Opposition
Big food companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, McDonald’s are opposing this policy. They argue that banning advertisements violates free marketing rights, that the responsibility for children’s diets lies with parents and not with them, and that such a step would affect their business and jobs.
India and Other Countries’ Situation
In India, the reach of junk food advertisements is very widespread—from cartoon channels to YouTube and mobile games. WHO and UNICEF are consistently advising that junk food marketing targeting children should be restricted. Many countries have taken steps—for example, Chile and the UK, where cartoon characters and colorful packaging for junk food content have been banned.
If the Problem is Not Addressed Immediately…
Childhood obesity will become a widespread health crisis.
Lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure will appear rapidly at a young age.
Psychological effects—wrong body image and risk of eating disorders will increase.
Such problems will have long-term and heavy health burdens on the coming generations.
The Path to Solutions
1. Policy + Education: Along with advertisement control, it is necessary to provide nutrition education to parents and schools.
2. Positive Marketing: Popular characters and celebrities should be involved in promoting healthy food options.
3. Responsibility of Digital Platforms: Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and others should be pushed to remove unhealthy food ads.
4. Creative Campaigns: Campaigns like “Eat colorful fruits,” “Be strong with protein,” etc., can help build nutrition habits.
Conclusion
Children’s nutrition is not only the responsibility of family or school but a shared responsibility of society—government, industry, family, and educational institutions. Advertising is a powerful tool; if it is used for healthy options instead of junk food, we can save our future generations from many lifestyle-related diseases.