'Predatory'
The report also highlighted the threat posed to children from harmful marketing. It found they were exposed to as many as 30,000 television advertisements a year, including those for alcohol, junk food and sugary soft drinks. One of the commission's authors, Anthony Costello, University College London professor of global health and sustainability, warned the meteoric rise in the use of social media among children and adolescents meant "predatory marketing" was more of a danger than ever. "We have few facts and figures about the huge expansion of social-media advertising and algorithms aimed at our children," he said. In 2019, a report estimated nearly 2.3 billion children and adults on the planet were overweight and more than 150 million children had stunted growth. The only countries on track to beat CO2 emission targets by 2030, while also performing fairly on child health and wellbeing, were Albania, Armenia, Grenada, Jordan, Moldova, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay and Vietnam. The report calls for a new global movement driven by and for children, with its recommendations including: - Stop CO2 emissions with the utmost urgency, to ensure children have a future on this planet - Place children and adolescents at the centre of our efforts to achieve sustainable development - New policies and investment in all sectors to work towards child health and rights - Incorporate children's voices into policy decisions - Tighten national regulation of harmful commercial marketing, supported by a new optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Prof Costello warned the UK's high ranking for the overall health and wellbeing of children did not mean it could "rest on its laurels," citing a predicted rise in child poverty as a warning sign. "For almost one in every two children to be poor in 21st Century Britain is not just a disgrace but a social calamity and an economic disaster, all rolled into one," he said. Lancet editor-in-chief Dr Richard Horton said: "This calls for the birth of a new era for child and adolescent health. It is the supreme test of our generation."DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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