THE CO-ORDINATOR of the Children’s Food Campaign Malcolm Clarke has issued a challenge to the new president of the International Olympics Committee.
Upon the election of Thomas Bach, Clark issued a statement calling for Bach to take a more ‘robust and responsible’ approach to the promotion of junk food and drink throughout the international sporting event, saying:
“The world is facing an obesity crisis of epidemic proportions, with more people now overweight than underweight globally, including in poor countries that do not have the money and health services to tackle diet-related disease.
“The Olympic movement has the potential to work with athletes to inspire a new generation to get fit and eat well. Yet the International Olympic Committee persists in giving fizzy drink and junk food companies such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s an unrivalled platform to promote their brands and their sugary and fatty products in multi-million pound sponsorship deals that link sport to less than healthy eating habits.
“Despite acknowledging the harm to the IOC’s aims and reputation, the previous president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge renewed these sponsorship deals to last until at least 2020.
“We challenge Thomas Bach to show that he acknowledges the power of the Olympic brand and cares about children¹s health. We call on Mr Bach to… change the IOC’s programme, so that the Olympic movement can truly be seen as an inspirational beacon for better health in the world.”