Excess weight in early childhood can have a significant impact on a child’s physical and mental health, academic performance, and quality of life, and increases the risk of developing obesity and other chronic non-communicable diseases in adulthood. The causes of excess weight and obesity in early childhood are multiple, and one of the factors is children’s exposure to advertising of high-fat, high-salt, and high-sugar foods and beverages (HFSS). But we need to learn how first – UNICEF Croatia is joining DK2023 to provide guidance on how to be more responsible because only responsible marketing and advertising of food and beverages to children can help create an environment that makes healthy choices easier.
Anđela Buljan Šiber (Chairwoman, HURA), Maja Lang-Morović (Rehabilitation Specialist, Croatian Institute of Public Health) and Lidija Gamulin (Head of Partnerships, UNICEF Croatia) will open a discussion and provide recommendations on how to work through cross-sector collaboration on market regulation and quality, all in order to create an environment that facilitates proper nutrition choices and obesity prevention, and how to involve other stakeholders – parents, education system, and psychologists.