Food Advertising to Children in Australia : Reaching Out to Old Targets Using New Media

Childhood obesity is a global health concern, with food advertising one of its most intensively debated potential causes. Critically examining children’s exposure to unhealthy food and drink marketing, on television and on various online platforms including social media, and how they evaluate and comprehend this content, Nipa Saha reviews the effectiveness of the industry’s self-regulatory system in Australia.

Providing an overview of current government initiatives to enhance children’s media literacy skills and evaluating the effectiveness of these programs, Saha recommends broad actions to be taken at federal, state or local levels that focus on developing these skills and increasing self-regulation.

The first book to explore the research concerned with the Australian context of food advertising to children, Food Advertising to Children in Australia equips policymakers, parents, educators and researchers to better shape and consider potential interventions with life-saving implications for children’s health.

Nipa Saha teaches and coordinates public communication subjects at Macquarie University, Australia. She is the former recipient of the UTS IRS scholarship and was a successful recipient of the UTS research student fund. Dr Saha was awarded Outstanding Paper in the 2021 Emerald Literati Awards for her article ‘Advertising food to Australian children: has self-regulation worked?’ published in the Journal of Historical Research in Marketing. Her research interests include public communication, strategic communication, advertising, branding, digital media, media regulation, marketing, and health.