Food-related health challenges of children and the role of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 in regulating unhealthy food advertising

Abstract

This research has shown that the heavy advertising of unhealthy food products and beverages is a likely causal factor in weight gain and obesity. Advertisers are using various techniques to exploit and target children-consumers under the age of twelve years old. As a result of consuming unhealthy foods products, children are victims of non-communicable diseases (NCD’s), which are medical conditions that result in serious health challenges, are non-infectious and cannot be passed from person to person (The Obesity policy coalition 2011: 10). The marketing of unhealthy food products has a destructive influence on children’s food choices and health. It has been established and acknowledged that there is a link between NCD’s and unhealthy food product consumption and this needs to be addressed. The aim of this study is to investigate the food-related health challenges of children and the role of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 in addressing these challenges. The research design adopted for this study was quantitative in nature. The study’s questionnaire will consist mainly of closed-ended questions with a few openended ones, it was designed to assess the role of awareness of children-consumers; and the food-related health challenges experienced by children and the role of the CPA and other commensurate legislation in regulating unhealthy food product advertising. through the regulation of unhealthy food product advertising. Convenience sample is used, the results cannot be generalized to the whole population. The data was obtained from 377 respondents in the Mpophomeni Township area, the findings of this study will benefit those disadvantaged areas. The gap analysis revealed that the respondents confirmed that their children suffered from health challenges and that their lacked the maturity to understand such harmful effects of advertising. These negative gaps indicated that the regulation of unhealthy food product advertisement aimed at children was below the expectations of the respondents. This implied that the government had to do something to assist the children-consumers and ensure that these food industries complied with the provisions of the CPA. Disadvantaged areas such as Mpophomeni are encouraged to take steps to ensure the regulation of advertisement of unhealthy food product aimed at children. The dissertation provides some recommendations as to how to achieve the possible measures to protect children from unhealthy food product advertising.