Geneva, Jan. 22: Junk food should not be sold in schools and playgrounds, the World Health Organisation said on Friday in a series of recommendations aimed at promoting a healthy diet and cutting child obesity.
However, it fell short of calling for a ban on advertising directed at children for foods high in saturated fats, sugars or salt, opting instead to ask member states to “consider the most effective approach to reduce” such marketing.
The non-binding recommendations will be put to a high-level meeting on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases during September’s General Assembly in New York, WHO officials said.
“Settings where children gather should be free from all forms of marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans-fatty acids, free sugars or salt,” said the UN health agency. Some 43 million pre-school children are obese, according to WHO data.