The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday released fresh guidance on shaping policies to best protect children from the harmful impact of food marketing.

WHO’s Director of Nutrition and Food Safety, Francesco Branca, in a statement said aggressive and pervasive marketing of foods and beverages high in fats, sugars and salt to children was responsible for unhealthy dietary choices.

“Calls to responsible marketing practices have not had a meaningful impact.”

As such, he said governments should establish strong and comprehensive regulations.

The new WHO guidance recommends that countries implement comprehensive mandatory policies to protect children of all ages from the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages that are high in saturated fatty acids, trans-fatty acids, free sugars and/or salt, a food grouping known by its acronym HFSS.

More than a decade after Member States endorsed WHO  recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children, young people continue to be exposed to powerful marketing of HFSS foods and non-alcoholic beverages, consumption of which is associated with negative health effects, the agency said.

Food marketing remains a threat to public health and continues to affect children’s food choices, intended choices, and their dietary intake, while also negatively influencing the development of their norms about food consumption, according to WHO.

The recommendation is based on a systematic review of the evidence on policies to restrict food marketing, including on contextual factors, the health agency said.