Public health experts say the food industry is failing to self-regulate and the government needs to urgently intervene to help curb Australia's soaring childhood obesity rates.
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A study by Cancer Council NSW and Sydney University researchers found children are being exposed to an average of three unhealthy food advertisements every hour they watch TV during peak periods - same as five years ago.
Nearly half of all food ads during children's peak viewing hours were for unhealthy foods, with fast food ads being most frequent, followed by chocolate and confectionary, and sugary drinks.
Wendy Watson, the council's nutrition programs manager, said the lack of reduction in unhealthy foods ads seen by children meant the industry's self-regulation initiatives - introduced in 2009 - were not working.
"For almost eight years now junk food companies have been able to take advantage of these weak, self-defined codes because there has been nothing to stop them from doing so," she said.
"[We're] calling on government to take long-awaited action to regulate to protect children from the impact and influence of junk food advertising, so that they can take a healthier path into adult life."
The study, published in Journal of Public Health, analysed ads that aired during children's peak viewing times: 6am to 9am and 4pm to 9pm on weekdays, and 6am to midday and 4pm to 9pm on weekends.
The researchers viewed free-to-air channels 7, 9 and 10, in Sydney for four days.
McDonald's dominated the fast food category, accounting for 47 per cent of fast food ads, followed by KFC and Hungry Jack's.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) launched two voluntary codes - Responsible Children's Marketing Initiative and Quick Service Restaurant Initiative for Responsible Advertising and Marketing to Children (QSRI) - in 2009 to reduce ads targeting children for unhealthy products and promote healthy eating.
However, the codes define "advertising to children" as ads placed in a medium "directed primarily to children" and/or where children represent 35 per cent of more of the audience.
McDonald's, KFC and Hungry Jack's are all signatories to the QSRI code of conduct.
Gary Dawson, chief executive of AFGC, said it rejected the report's findings as it "deliberately fudged" the concepts of advertising that targets children and food advertising generally.
He said the Cancer Council's report measured all food advertising, which is almost entirely directed at adults.
"The advertising to children codes are what the name suggests: They're about advertising directed at children because adults are well able to make their own choices and take responsibility for themselves, just as parents are best placed to make decisions for their children," he said.
"The codes deliberately target programs when children are likely to be viewing TV on their own, without parental supervision, which is the rationale for removing promotion of non-core foods during these programs."
In regards to calls for government intervention, he said overseas experience showed it didn't reduce childhood obesity rates.
At least one-quarter of Australian children are overweight or obese, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and this figure is increasing.
Ms Watson held her ground, saying the codes had "loopholes", including the requirement that a third of the audience had to be children for an ad to be considered targeting children.
"We observed that in Sydney alone there were 40,000 children watching the rugby league and 30,000 watching Masterchef, but they only made up about 10 per cent of the audience, so a junk food ad in those shows would still technically comply," she continued.
On the point about the overseas experience, she said in Quebec in Canada, where there were advertising restrictions, children were eating less junk and fast food.
Michael Moore, chief executive of Public Health Association of Australia, said, as a starting point, junk food ads heavily associated with sport targeting children should be restricted.
"This junk food industry, like the alcohol industry has particularly targeted sport, because they're trying to associate a healthy activity with an unhealthy product and benefit from the halo effect," he said.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said, as a QSRI signatory, the chain took its responsibility as an advertiser seriously.
"Advertising to children represents less than 2 per cent of our total media budget and we only promote healthier options when communicating to children," she said.
"Today over a third of all Happy Meals sold in Australia include either a seared chicken wrap, apple slices, low-fat flavoured milk, fruit juice or water."
