By Miranda Fitzgerald, Marketing, 11 December 2008, 1:25pm

ASA study finds food ads comply with childhood obesity code

LONDON - UK advertisers are obeying the code for marketing junk food to children, according to a compliance report by the Advertising Standards Authority.

The ASA surveyed 927 ads across a variety of media, including TV, radio, online, press, posters and direct mailings. It found only 1% of the ads breached the code that was introduced last year to tackle childhood obesity.

The non-alcoholic drinks sector was found to have the lowest rate of compliance, accounting for eight out of ten of the breaches. The code stipulates that food and drink ads must not encourage poor nutritional habits or unhealthy lifestyles.

The internet was found to be the medium that breached the code most, with 3% of online ads failing to comply with it. The report states that the medium ‘might need more scrutiny'.