Preventing childhood obesity by discouraging digital marketing of food

Abstract

The global trends reveal that the currently available estimates of obesity have become almost three times when compared with the estimates in the year 1975. Even children have not been spared of this threat and close to 39 million children in the under-5 age group were overweight or obese. Even though a wide range of factors determines the prevalence of childhood overweight or obesity in a region, the findings of a recently released report from the European region have emphasized the digital marketing of foods rich in fats, salt, and sugars to children. There is no doubt that the food marketing industry has played a defining role in aggravating the problem by ensuring the promotion of obesogenic food items in such a way that they are cheaper, more visible, and easily available in contrast to healthy foods. To conclude, among the lack of appropriate regulations to control digital marketing, the epidemic of childhood obesity is going to increase further. It is the need of the hour to understand the importance of the issue and bridge the existing gaps to minimize the burden of childhood obesity.