Deceptive food ads leading to obesity, report calls for stronger regulations

Misleading advertisements pushing unhealthy foods to consumers are on the rise in the Indian Market due to a lack of legal measures and inadequate monitoring. Public advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) released a new report “50 Shades of Food Advertising” on Friday exposing how “seductive, luring, manipulative or deceptive” ads promote unhealthy, ultra-processed food products. This raises concern over its harmful impact on public health, considering the alarming rates of obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related diseases in the country. 

How Ads Deceive You 

The study revealed that marketing techniques for unhealthy or high-fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) products often utilizes emotional appeal to sell the product. Attractive visuals and images of whole fruits, grains, and nutritional benefits also mislead consumers into believing the product is a healthy choice. The study noted that almost half of the ads examined, featured famous Bollywood celebrities in order to build trust and entice potential customers. 

Furthermore, the report highlighted that advertisements conceal critical nutrients such as sugar, salt, and fat which is deemed as ‘important information’ and must be disclosed according to the Consumer Protection Act’s mandate. 

Health Consequences 

Advertisements that conceal important nutritional information and deceptively market their products as ‘healthy’ can have adverse consequences on consumer health. Studies show that the consumption of processed foods that are high in calories and fat, sugar or salt content has been linked to diabetes and obesity. This in turn increased the risk of other life-threatening diseases such as stroke and cardiac arrest. 

India has 100 million cases of diabetes and 1 in every 4 individuals is either suffering from diabetes or is pre-diabetic or obese, according to a 2023 ICMR-INDIAB study. With growing concern over the rise of these diseases, consumers must be aware of the ingredients and nutritional value present in what they are eating. Dr Arun Gupta, a paediatrician and convenor of NAPi stated that “The pervasive and aggressive advertising and marketing of unhealthy HFSS food products, or ultra-processed food (UPF) products have made an entry into the diets of Indians, replacing their traditional diets.” 

Legal Gaps and Recommendations 

The NAPi has recommended that the relevant government ministries and food regulation bodies implement a clear definition for ‘misleading ads’, create mandates that require advertisers to disclose nutritional information and restrict marketing of high-fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS) foods. 

The report identified legal loopholes and gaps in existing legislation that allow advertisers to release misleading ads. In India, The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 aims to stop misleading or deceiving advertisements of food but, the report points out that it does not objectively define what is a misleading advertisement. FSS Regulations also fail to require the nutritional information to be disclosed in the ad.