Kazakhstan wants to restrict fast food advertising for children

Restrictions on fast food advertising for children may be introduced in Kazakhstan

There is a possibility that advertising of fast food and sugary drinks aimed at children will be restricted in Kazakhstan. The country's Ministry of Health has prepared legislative proposals in this direction.

The proposals concern fast food, sugary drinks, and products high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats.

"The main goal of the initiative is to reduce the marketing influence on children's food choices and to form healthy habits from an early age," the report says.

Food advertising has a particularly strong impact on children and adolescents. They are more susceptible to promotion through bright packaging, social networks, bloggers, and other marketing tools.

"The Ministry has developed proposals for the legislation to restrict the advertising of food products high in salt, sugar, saturated fats, and trans fats on television, radio channels, social networks, and outdoor advertising media. To implement these proposals, the Ministry has started analyzing the regulatory impact of these restrictions," said Gulnar Sarsembayeva, Director of the Department of Medical Care Organization of the Ministry of Health.

According to research results, 23 percent of children aged 6–9 are overweight, and 6 percent are obese. In addition, 17.5 percent of adolescents consume energy drinks every week.

In January, a law banning the online advertising of junk food and restricting television advertising came into force in the UK. The restrictions apply to 13 categories of products high in sugar, fat, and salt. In particular, they include sugar-sweetened drinks (some dairy products like yogurt), chips, salted crackers, cookies, cornflakes and other "ready-to-eat" breakfast products, popcorn, chocolate, chewing gum, ice cream, sugary pastries, pizza, and frozen foods.