A prominent psychiatrist has issued a stark warning that children are being exploited by the marketing of unhealthy foods, with serious mental health consequences.
Dr Joy Sue, consultant psychiatrist at the Psychiatric Hospital, said the barrage of junk food advertising is not only driving childhood obesity but also contributing to depression, anxiety, eating disorders and even suicide among young people.
Addressing a media seminar on the banning of marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children, Dr Sue went further to insist that it is the responsibility of Barbadian society to protect children from the “harmful physical and mental health effects of this type of marketing,” adding the caveat that prevention is better than cure.
“Marketing of unhealthy foods to children should be seen as a violation of child rights. Marketing of unhealthy foods to children takes advantage of their developmental, cognitive and emotional immaturity in order to create consumers who will be loyal to a brand for a lifetime,” the mental health specialist contended.
Presenting a sobering list of indirect effects from the marketing of unhealthy foods, she identified behavioural problems, substance use, and a significantly reduced quality of life.
“Obese adolescents,” Dr Sue explained, “may be more likely to engage in risky behaviours in order to gain social acceptance by peers including joining deviant peer groups; may use substances to try and cope with the negative emotions resulting from social stigmatisation and depressive symptoms; the mental health and social consequences of obesity can significantly reduce a child’s overall quality of life, affecting domains like physical functioning, emotional well-being, social relationships, and overall life satisfaction.”
“It is evident that marketing of unhealthy foods to children in schools and otherwise does a disservice to children,” the mental health expert added.
Breaking down the mental and emotional challenges resulting from obesity, Dr Sue said the disease “is significantly associated with a suicide attempt, ideation, and plan among adolescents…even after adjusting for confounding psychosocial factors”.
“Disordered eating behaviours are highly prevalent among obese children, and this increases the risk of developing eating disorders, most frequently bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorders. This may be related to the pressure to lose weight.”
She identified trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night as another mental and emotional challenge.
This leads to daytime sleepiness and fatigue, which the specialist physician pointed out is a frequent complaint in obese children.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is also another problem: “Limited evidence suggesting that a diet high in refined sugar and unsaturated fat may be associated with increased risk of ADHD.”
“Obese children often feel negative about their body image, leading to low self-worth and self-esteem issues; bullying from peers related to weight can lead to social withdrawal and isolation, impacting relationships and social development negatively; [and] both social stigma and negative self-perception may significantly increase the risk of these disorders.”
The consultant psychiatrist then turned her attention to the advertisements themselves.
She said: “Exploitation of the struggles of children and adolescents with impulse control can have a negative impact on their ability to self-regulate desires. This can lead, not only to overeating, but also emotional eating. Many ads depict unrealistic body ideals while simultaneously promoting unhealthy eating habits. This contradiction can create confusion, contributing to body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and early anxiety around body image.”
Dr Sue cautioned that the heavy marketing of high fat, high sugar foods to children and adolescents presents an ethical dilemma: “It can be viewed as exploitative, because young children do not have the ability to understand that commercials are designed to sell products and they do not yet possess the cognitive ability to critically assess advertising.”
The mental health expert also cited Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that children have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and access to healthcare services.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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