Food And Drink Advertising Is Not Healthy In Seliweran, Ministry Of Health Reminds Obesity Threats

Illustration of high sugar foods (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - There are now more and more unhealthy food advertisements in various media. This can be a serious threat that lurks the health of Indonesian children because of the appeal of these advertisements.

The Indonesian Health Survey (SKI) 2023 noted that 19.7% of children aged 5'12 years and 14.3% of children aged 13'18 years were overweight or obese. In fact, 97.6% of children aged 5'19 years do not consume five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Sadly, 54.6% of them consume sweetened drinks every day.

One of the main causes of the increase in the obesity rate in children is digital marketing exposure to unhealthy food products. Indonesia has more than 167 million active social media users, equivalent to 60% of the total population, and teens become the most active internet users, with penetration rates reaching 99.1%.

Director of Disease Prevention and Control Not Infectious Ministry of Health dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi M.Epid, obesity not only has an impact on the health aspect, but also has social and economic consequences. He said that the obesity rate must be controlled.

"The excess weight and obesity in children is not just a matter of appearance, but a serious threat to the health future of the younger generation. In this digital era, advertisements for unhealthy foods must be strictly controlled, and parents need to be more vigilant and active in maintaining their child consumption patterns," he said.

To reduce the number of child obesity, the Ministry of Health cooperates with Unicef and Novo Nordisk to create a healthy food environment in Indonesia. Doctor Siti revealed that if not overcome, obesity will be a big burden of financing for the country in the future. The Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) implements a number of prevention and control strategies.

The Ministry of Health together with UNICEF and Novo Nordisk are mobilizing advocacy to create a healthy food environment as a preventive measure for obesity. This initiative also highlights the need to protect children from unhealthy food advertisements on social media.

"Together with Komdigi, we can carry out restrictions on advertisements that can affect children and adolescents," said dr. Nadia.

According to a recent report, UNICEF revealed the results of an analysis of 295 advertisements from 20 leading food and beverage brands on three social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). As a result, 85% of these brands market products that are not suitable for children based on the nutritional threshold of WHO.

Unfortunately, regulations in Indonesia have not been able to effectively control the frequency, reach, and strength of messages from unhealthy food advertisements on digital platforms. As a result, children continue to be exposed to these advertisements which indirectly form their food preferences early on.

These products contain:

- Excess sugar (96%).

- Fat saturated (100%).

- Total fat (77%).

- Sodium (77%).

- Excessive energy (100%).

The most frequently advertised types of products include:

- Fast food.

- Snacks.

- processed food.

- Drinks are light.

Advertising Engineering Targeting Children

These advertisements use persuasive techniques such as:

- Hashtag and social media tag (23.1%).

- Featured product appearance (19.6%).

- Emotional attractions such as excitement and joy (10.1%).

- Visuals of children and adolescents (9.0%).

- Interactive tactics such as invitations to like, share, or comment.

- Special promos like 'buy one free one'.

These strategies make children more vulnerable to being affected because they don't fully understand that what they see is advertising.

Policy Recommendations

To protect children from the bad effects of digital marketing unhealthy foods, UNICEF and various parties recommend:

- Strengthening digital marketing regulations for unhealthy foods.

- Prohibiting the use of influencers, prizes, and manipulative tactics in advertising to children.

- Develop a national nutritional profile model as a product classification standard.

- Increase awareness of parents and caregivers about the dangers of marketing unhealthy foods.

Obesity is a serious threat that can increase the risk of various chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and a number of other complications. If not treated immediately, this condition has the potential to cause an increase in mortality in the long term.