Day 065 - 09 Dec 94 - Page 19

     
     1        evidence that that is the case.  If you are concerned (as
     2        I am) about, and as the health of the nation is, about
     3        children's nutrition, that really, I am afraid, is not
     4        enough; it is not enough to say whether parents are happy
     5        or unhappy.  There is evidence that some parents are
     6        unhappy about it.  But we have to look at the overall
     7        effect that this may be having on children's diets, perhaps
     8        with or without parental approval.  After all, parents
     9        themselves may have limited knowledge about health and
    10        nutrition.  Parents themselves may not always be the best
    11        role models.
    12
    13   Q.   Would you not be better advised to spend your time and your
    14        energy on educating parents about nutritional matters, if
    15        you feel they needed, than on, as it were, trying to
    16        prevent companies advertising food to children on
    17        television?
    18        A.  A great deal of effort is going into educating the
    19        British public about nutrition.  It is generally recognised
    20        that the effort should be given to the young, to children.
         For the reasons I outlined earlier in giving evidence,
    22        children's diets are important not just for their own
    23        health during childhood, but for their effects in later
    24        life.  Also children are more open to learning.  It is much
    25        easier to change habits and food preferences when you are
    26        young than it is later.  That is not to say that it is not
    27        worthwhile changing your diet later in life, but the
    28        benefits of it may be less than the influence at an early
    29        age.
    30
    31        My primary concern of the work that I do here is to
    32        encourage, find ways of encouraging children to eat more
    33        healthily.  As I pointed out in the report, that requires
    34        action in a wide number of areas.  Advertising is one of
    35        those.  Education in schools is very important.  Quality
    36        and type of food, if they get any, of school dinners is
    37        another example; what is on the curriculum.
    38
    39        These are all issues, for example, that the National Food
    40        Alliance is involved in.  Advertising is one of those, but
         I do not think advertising should seek to somehow make
    42        itself an exception to say that it is above this.  Whilst
    43        my work here, and I am invited here as an expert to talk
    44        about advertising, I recognise that advertising has to be
    45        seen in the broader context.  But that does not in any way
    46        say that advertising is not a legitimate area to be looked
    47        at.
    48
    49        My primary concern, as I said, is not just to see things
    50        banned or to see advertising messages prevented.  My 
    51        concern is seeing a more balanced advertising message from 
    52        a nutritional point of view being given to children.  There 
    53        are ways in which one could hope to see that achieved.  The
    54        National Food Alliance has been extremely active in
    55        negotiating and talking and trying to bring together
    56        parties that have an interest in this area.
    57
    58   Q.   Ms. Dibb, your National Food Alliance publication,
    59        discussion paper, as you are pleased to call it, is headed,
    60        "Children:  Advertisers' Dream, Nutrition Nightmare?"  How