Obesity can have serious consequences for health, especially in childhood. The discounter Lidl therefore now wants to take countermeasures and no longer target advertising for unhealthy food to children as of this year.
The Corona pandemic has not only changed our everyday lives, but has also had a profound impact on children and young people in particular. According to a Forsa survey, every sixth child in Germany has become fatter since the beginning of the pandemic.
Almost half of them have exercised less than before. The consumption of sweets has also increased for about a quarter of the children during this time.
This could also be linked to increased media use during the lockdown period. Because, as the RKI writes in a brochure on factors influencing childhood obesity, watching television is associated with low energy consumption.
It is also often associated with “the consumption of energy-dense snacks”. This is mainly due to the fact that television advertising for sweets or sugary drinks increases “the consumption of such products by children”.
Advertising: Lidl no longer wants to lure children with unhealthy foods
Lidl therefore has good intentions for the new year. Because the discounter wants to set new standards in children’s marketing from the 2023 financial year. Lidl wants to “basically no longer advertise unhealthy food to children”. However, special offers at Christmas, Easter and Halloween will be exempt from this.
Lidl is thus the first German food retailer to implement a corresponding recommendation of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In its marketing, the discounter wants to promote a “healthy and sustainable diet for children” instead. By the end of 2025, all foods of Lidl’s own brands that carry a children’s look on the packaging are to meet the WHO criteria for healthy food.
Discounter wants to promote conscious nutrition
Lidl is “aware of the fact that nutrition has a significant impact on the climate, biodiversity as well as on health”. Therefore, the discounter wants to “actively support the transformation to a sustainable diet”.
“With these measures, we want to promote more sustainable consumption and a healthier lifestyle as part of our strategy for conscious nutrition,” explains Lidl’s head of purchasing Christoph Graf.
The discounter based its measures on the scientific findings of the Planetary Health Diet.
