In today’s Times Ed Richards delivers a straightforward and very candid review of the politics and regulatory principles underlying Ofcom’s actions in the regulation of advertising of HFSS (junk) foods.

It’s a well-written piece: Richards skillfully portrays Ofcom as the evidence-based purveyor of regulation having to navigate its way between shrill proponents of one-sided solutions.

He writes:

Over the last three years our researchers heard from more than 2,000 children, parents and teachers. We also looked at the family eating habits of more than 11,000 people, and more than 1,000 people and organisations responded to our public consultation.

The evidence: children’s food preferences are shaped by TV adverts — which must come as a relief to brand managers everywhere. That influence, while limited when compared with the role of parents and other factors, is real and cannot be ignored. However, it can also be overstated. Other influences are much more important, and much harder to change.

And then, referring the trade-offs between commercial viability and choice on the one hand and children’s health on the other, he further adds:

At its starkest, this has felt at times like a ludicrously binary choice. Which would be better: a short life in front of the best TV programmes in the world or a long life spent looking in vain for something decent to watch?

(or was he comparing Channel 4 to ITV?)

The real evidence is still to come, of course: the outcomes of this policy. Will Ofcom’s actions have any measurable effect on either television or children’s health? Perhaps it will be too difficult to tell — other factors such as changes in the media and the daily life of children may confound any proper analysis.

Finally, its very noteworthy how Richards characterises the actors here. Ofcom employ ‘researchers’ and the industry and health groups have ‘lobbyists’. There definitely exists a gap: Ofcom has a large research budget and highly-skilled research staff. Are the regulatees and interest groups ill-equipped to keep pace? Can a true dialogue exist for evidence-based policy making with Ofcom?