Home / Food for Thought: collaborating to improve health for young people

Food for Thought: collaborating to improve health for young people

Food For Thought is a project led by The Inner East Prevention Partnership (Access Health and Community, Link Health and Community and healthAbility) in collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology.

This project aims to understand and mitigate the impact of unhealthy food and beverage marketing targeting children in the Local Government Areas (LGA) of Manningham, Boroondara, Monash and Whitehorse.

The project aligns with the “Healthy Partnerships in Sport” initiative by VicHealth, VicSport, and Cancer Council Victoria.

You can download the infographic or the full report.

Background

Poor dietary habits among young people are a significant public health concern. Food and beverage marketing, often promoting unhealthy products like sugary drinks and fast food, influences children’s food preferences, especially when it occurs within environments like junior sporting clubs. With two-thirds of children participating in local sports, these clubs are key intervention points to reduce exposure to unhealthy food marketing.

This project investigated the potential of negative impact from unhealthy food marketing activities, using a mixed-methods design with three different data collection points:

  • an online audit of sporting club web sites
  • a field audit of environmental advertising at sporting club venues
  • interviews with sporting club officials.

Key Findings

Online audit identified that 46% of the 253 clubs audited had food marketing online, and:

  • amongst the online food marketing, 75% was categorised as unhealthy.
  • the sports with the highest levels of online food marketing were AFL(81%), cricket(72%), soccer(69%).
  • advertisements for unhealthy and less healthy foods were significantly more frequent than those for healthy foods.

Field audit further found that 102 out of the 116 clubs with online marketing also had physical food marketing, and:

  • most physical marketing was displayed on boundary fences.
  • the sports with the highest levels of physical food marketing were cricket, basketball, soccer and AFL.

Interview – representatives from seven clubs were interviewed and six common themes were identified:

  • Barriers – clubs value independence and traditions, making it hard to shift away from unhealthy sponsorships. “We do not like being told what to do.”
  • Facilitators – existing policies can help implement changes. “We have a policy on sponsorships that fits our club’s culture and values.”
  • Awareness – varying food literacy levels affect understanding of sponsorship impacts. “Kids love a hot dog after the game, and that is not the worst thing in the world.”
  • Community Attitudes – community opinions influence club decisions. “We put a sign up for Glenny Maccas, and there was a complaint on the Facebook community page.”
  • Responsibility – clubs recognise their role in promoting a healthy environment but defer to parents for food choices. “The kids are going to want to go to McDonald’s anyway; let’s have some parental control.”
  • Sport Characteristics – different sports have varying resource needs, affecting their reliance on sponsorship. “Cricket, as opposed to many other sports, is expensive.”

You can download and read the full report.

Collaboration is required to make the change

Junior sporting clubs are important for encouraging physical activity, but they also unintentionally promote unhealthy food through marketing. To change this, we need a multifaceted approach that includes education, policy changes, and community engagement. Working together with local governments, community health services, and relevant organizations is crucial to making these changes and creating healthier environments for children and young people.

Contact us







    After-hours contacts

    For after-hours assistance regarding AccessHC property and security call 0466 501 902.

    For after-hours medical care call 134100.