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Effect of Television Advertisements for Foods on Food Consumption in Children
Abstract
The impact of television (TV) advertisements (commercials) on children's eating behaviour and health is of critical interest. In a preliminary study we examined lean, over weight and obese children's ability to recognise eight food and eight non-food related adverts in a repeated measures design. Their consumption of sweet and savoury, high and low fat snack foods were measured after both sessions. Whilst there was no significant difference in the number of non-food adverts recognised between the lean and obese children, the obese children did recognise significantly more of the food adverts. The ability to recognise the food adverts significantly correlated with the amount of food eaten after exposure to them. The overall snack food intake of the obese and overweight children was significantly higher than the lean children in the control (non-food advert) condition. The consumption of all the food offered increased post food advert with the exception of the low-fat savoury snack. These data demonstrate obese children's heightened alertness to food related cues. Moreover, exposure to such cues induce increased food intake in all children. As suggested the relationship between TV viewing and childhood obesity appears not merely a matter of excessive sedentary activity. Exposure to food adverts promotes consumption.
... BMI was positively related to recognition of food advertisements. • Halford Gillespie et al (2004;US;experimental): This study examined lean, overweight and obese children's ability to recognise eight food and eight non-food related advertisements in a repeated measures design. While there was no significant difference in the number of non-food advertisements recognised between the lean and obese children, the obese children did recognise significantly more of the food advertisements. ...
... • narrative review): "The extent to which increased exposure to unhealthy foods and beverages in children-specific programming leads to increased consumption is not clear". In response to advertisements, children increase their consumption of high-fat and/or sweet energy-dense snacks (Halford et al 2004;Vereecken & Maes 2006;Halford et al 2007). In the UK, exposure to food advertising results in increased food intake in children, particularly obese children (Halford et al 2004;2007). ...
... In response to advertisements, children increase their consumption of high-fat and/or sweet energy-dense snacks (Halford et al 2004;Vereecken & Maes 2006;Halford et al 2007). In the UK, exposure to food advertising results in increased food intake in children, particularly obese children (Halford et al 2004;2007). Thus, overweight and obese children may be more responsive to food promotion, particularly for energy-dense snacks . ...
This work was conducted at the request of the Centre for Population Health at the NSW Ministry of Health, to inform implementation of the relevant strategic direction of the NSW Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Strategy 2013–2018. It is not intended to be an exhaustive review but rather to provide an indication of the rationale for intervening and the potential effectiveness of a broad range of policy options. It is also intended to inform ongoing stakeholder consultation regarding action with respect to the food environment. This consultation will necessarily take account of other evidence of effectiveness including likely reach and population impact, as well as implementation issues such as sustainability of effects, feasibility, acceptability, equity, and other factors affectingplanning and investment decisions. It is noted that no single action contained within this evidence synthesis will in itself be sufficient to affect weight status substantially at the population level. A portfolio of interventions within the food environment, alongside action to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviours, is required to halt the progress of obesity and prevent chronic disease. This sentiment has been expressed many times previously but also recently in the McKinsey paper by Dobbs et al (November 2014) relating to an economic analysis for obesity prevention: “Existing evidence indicates that no single intervention is likely to have a significant overall impact. A systemic, sustained portfolio of initiatives, delivered at scale, is needed to reverse the health burden.” Similarly, no individual sector in society can address obesity acting on its own — neither governments, retailers, consumer-goods companies, restaurants, employers, media organisations, educators, healthcare providers, or individuals.Achieving the full potential impact requires engagement from as many sectors as possible. Ideally such actions would be contained within an overarching National Nutrition Policy in Australia. Finally, we would like to echo another sentiment of the McKinsey Global Institute discussion paper, that “… our analysis is by no means complete. Rather we see our work [on a potential program to address obesity] as the equivalent of the maps used by 16th-century navigators. Some islands were missing and some islands were misshapen in these maps, but they were helpful to the sailors of the era. We are sure that we have missed some interventions and over- or underestimated the impact of others. But we hope our work to be a useful guide….”
... The number of those affected by obesity and health problems related to being overweight continues to rise at an alarming rate (Figure 1). In 2016, approximately 124 million children and adolescents ages [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] were obese and about 25% of children are overweight, and this percentage is still getting larger [1] . It is estimated that by 2050, more than 43% of children and adolescents in the U.S. will be overweight or obese [2] . ...
... The results of the experiment indicated that the majority of children consumed more food after witnessing the ad, especially in the overweight and obese groups. This study suggests that advertising foods on television or in stores is a major indirect influence on children's food preferences and intake [15] . ...
The global childhood obesity epidemic has been a rising health concern over the past two decades. Obesity is associated with premature death, type 2 diabetes, and many other serious diseases and health conditions. Developing healthy eating habits early at a young age is a way to prevent diet-related diseases. Given the substantial increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity, various research studies have been conducted to treat this public health issue. Health campaigns worldwide have depended on multiple methods to reduce this crisis, including physical activity and diet-control programs, medicine, and surgery. Recent studies have found an additional promising and encouraging way to promote healthy eating among children: cartoons. Cartoons can affect cognitive development and encourage positive behaviors in children. Cartoons promoting a healthy diet can influence the food choices of children. However, cartoons have drawbacks as consuming media creates a sedentary lifestyle and could also be used to promote unhealthy foods to children. This review analyzes the effects of cartoons on children, how exposure to cartoon images can change children's behaviors and the underlying mechanisms of graphic media. Although using cartoon images is a promising way to reduce the prominence of childhood obesity, due to limited data concerning the long-term benefits of exposure to media, the combination of healthy eating cartoons with other traditional healthy eating techniques should also be considered.
... Exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing is a major contributor to excessive weight gain in youth [1,2]. Youth exposed to food and beverage advertising ("ads") demonstrate more preferences for advertised foods, higher purchase intention, and increased food consumption compared to youth exposed to nonfood ads [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Data examining food marketing on digital platforms (eg, social media and gaming) also show influences on food preferences and consumption [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. ...
... More research is needed to understand the effects of exposure to VR food and beverage marketing and marketing at varying levels of immersion on young people of color. The research needed includesbut is not limited to, effects on preferences, purchase intention or "pester power" among younger children, purchases, and consumption [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Content analyses on VR marketing experiences are necessary to capture the unique elements that may appeal to young people of color. ...
Exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing is a major contributor to excessive weight gain among young people and it may disproportionately affect Black and Latinx communities. Appropriate and comprehensive regulations on food and beverage companies are essential, particularly as companies expand their reach and leverage the latest technologies to create marketing experiences using immersive virtual reality (VR). Although immersive VR technology is in its infancy, the potential effects of immersive VR food and beverage marketing on consumption, coupled with the history of racially targeted marketing by food and beverage corporations toward Black and Latinx communities, and the heightened burden of diet-related illnesses in Black and Latinx communities underscore a critical need to investigate immersive VR marketing targeting young people of color. This viewpoint will provide a brief description of VR food and beverage marketing as the newest food and beverage marketing frontier, highlight key concerns and knowledge gaps, and underscore future directions in research.
... Obesity among Saudi children is alarming, as it has been increasing during the past decade [2]. A study conducted in 2016 of 3,613 school-aged children (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19) years) from different regions of Saudi Arabia concluded that 21.5% of children were obese or overweight [3]. Moreover, a study conducted in 2015 on 7,930 children (6-16 years) in Riyadh city found that 13.4% and 18.2% of children are obese or overweight, respectively [2]. ...
... Similarly, according to a local survey addressed to parents, Saudi children are among the youngest in the world who receive their first mobile, which may increase the chances of advertisement exposure [11]. It is widely acknowledged that frequent exposure to energydense food advertisements is linked to changing food preferences among children and causes overconsumption [12,13]. In addition, children are more vulnerable to persuasive advertising techniques, as they may interpret the marketing intent of selling a product as accurate and truthful, especially those of younger age [12,14,15]. ...
b> Introduction: Evidence showed that some food advertisements may encourage unhealthy dietary practices among children; therefore, regulatory developments were implemented to overcome this issue. Different countries control or ban unhealthy food advertisements marketed to children, whereas in Saudi Arabia, no regulations exist until now. Thus, identifying and analyzing food advertisements aimed at children is crucial for further implementation. Methods: A content analysis of food advertisements was obtained from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority advertisements electronic registration system (Ealan). The data extracted for this study consist of all Ealan system food advertisements’ requests targeted at children (<12 years) and collected over 16 months (from January 2020 to April 2021). We created a codebook to analyze the advertisements’ persuasive techniques. Results: Forty-one advertisements were analyzed; 58.5% were marketed as posters, whereas the rest (41.5%) were visual advertisements. About 95% of the advertisements were aimed to be marketed through social media, and 35% were aimed to be featured on television. The persuasive techniques used in the analyzed advertisements were children (73.2%), health claims (68.3%), and taste appeals (34.1%). In addition, milk powder products were among the most marketed food type (60.9%). Conclusion: This study found that the primary persuasive techniques used in children’s advertisements were children’s appearance, health claims, and taste appeals. Furthermore, most food companies chose social media to promote their products. We recommend designing preventive policies and restrictions to control children’s exposure to unhealthy food and making modifications to the system before implementing any further restriction.
... Children and adolescents from the lower social classes view more hours of television per week and show an increased prevalence of obesity (Jago et al., 2005). A number of studies suggested a positive correlation between television viewing and children's poor eating behavior (Giammattei et al., 2003;Halford et al., 2004). The Colorado State University conducted a study among the children pertaining to cartoon viewing and food intake which ended with an interesting conclusion: that the children are consuming fat-rich and high calorie food to become as healthy as their favorite cartoon character the children tended to eat more candy after watching cartoons with an overweight cartoon character (Campbell et al., 2016). ...
... Women in Latvia were shown to increase in CPFR and STSR with increasing age (Kažoka and Vētra, 2012). Increased television viewing can significantly predict BMI and MUAC (Halford et al., 2004). Among many adiposity related variables associated with high family income, TV viewing was found to be the most important variable, irrespective of family income status. ...
Background: Childhood obesity is considered as a major concern since a couple of decades. The increasing prevalence of childhood obesity is clear and concerns about the future health impact of childhood obesity are currently well documented. Low level of physical activity, high quantity of fat rich junk food consumption and prolonged leisure time with television (TV) viewing were reported to be significantly associated with obesity. Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the association of body fat distribution with television watching among school going Bengali children of Kolkata, India. Sample and Methods: 200 girls (aged 10-15 years) from a very heterogeneous background were selected from one state school. Data on socio-demographic aspects, TV viewing, computer use, physical activity and dietary pattern were collected by pretested questionnaire after obtaining prior consent from competent persons. Anthropometric measurements were taken following standard techniques. Results: Most of the participants preferred fat rich junk food and a few practice regular exercises. One-way ANOVA showed significant differences of body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) between groups depending on the duration of TV viewing. The adiposity related variables were standardized by standard deviation score before the inferential analyses. Adjusted multiple linear regression showed positive effects of the duration of TV viewing on BMI (R2=0.233) and MUAC (R2=0.277). Conclusion: Irrespective of economic status, prolonged television watching leads to an adverse body fat distribution among teenage girls of Kolkata.
... Food advertisements comprise a critical factor in children that can contribute to the envelopment of obesity (Halford et al., 2004). Globally, and in Germany, children have always been a strong focus of advertisers (De Jans et al., 2019). ...
... Teens on social media experience an estimated 9,000 exposures each year to high-calorie food ads, compared to around 1,500 exposures for younger children . Moreover, an alarming correlation exists between viewing advertisements for high-calorie foods and the consumption of these types of food (Halford et al., 2004). In one study, children who viewed influencers with high-calorie snacks had significantly higher overall intake and significantly higher intake of high-calorie snacks specifically, compared to children who viewed influencers with non-food items (Coates et al., 2019a). ...
Kid influencers (under the age of 13) have profiles on social media platforms and create content to generate views and engagements. To reach young consumers, food companies are increasingly using kid influencers, perceived as highly trustworthy among children of the same age, to promote their (high-calorie) food products. Exposure to such content can lead to an increase in calorie intake. Therefore, this study aimed to identify which foods and beverages are featured in the videos of the four kid influencer channels most popular in Germany and, if possible, which Nutri-Score category these products receive.
Of each channel, 50 of the most popular and 50 of the newest videos were analyzed regarding the food and beverage products and brands appearing in the video and the thumbnail. To analyze the number of appearances, each product was categorized as to whether it was branded or unbranded. Where possible, the Nutri-Score was then calculated for each product that appeared.
Within the total video sample (N = 373), food and/or beverages appeared in almost 70% of the videos, of which 220 were branded and 178 were unbranded products. Due to incomplete nutrition labels of branded products, only 146 branded products could be analyzed, from which 66% received the worst Nutri-Score categories D and E. The unbranded foods were evaluated using products as similar as possible, of which the majority received Nutri-Score A. The most common brands included McDonald's, Kinder, and Coca-Cola, and the most frequent product categories were chocolate, candy, soft drinks, and fruit.
The high number of high-calorie products in the videos shows that kid influencers might be regarded as a risk factor when it comes to childhood obesity.
... While unhealthy diets are driven by a range of individual, societal and structural factors, a body of evidence spanning 40 years has established that advertising can affect what children eat, both in the short and longer terms by shaping and perpetuating food preferences. Promoted foods and drinks are typically high in fat and sugar (1,4) and their advertisement is linked to increased food intake (5) and increased energy intakes (4,6) which increases the risk of overweight and obesity (7) . As the prevalence of childhood obesity remains high and for some groups continues to increase over time, the need for more extensive regulation is evident (8) . ...
... In 2007 Ofcom introduced TV advertising restrictions, banning the promotion of HFSS products during children's programming (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15) year olds), with the explicit aim to significantly reduce the exposure of children aged under 16 years to TV advertising of food HFSS (11) . ...
For 20 years the UK Government has recognised that food advertising plays a part in food choices and hence diets of the population, particularly for children. In 2007 the UK brought in regulations to stop the advertising of less healthy foods on television (TV) during child-specific programming. Less healthy foods were defined using the 2004/2005 nutrient profiling model (NPM) as products high in saturated fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). Evaluations showed that children were still seeing and being affected by the adverts for less healthy foods. To try to mitigate childhood obesity, in 2018, the UK Government announced its intention to consult on further restrictions on the advertising of HFSS products on TV and online. Two years later, the intention to implement a 9pm advertising ban on TV and a further consultation on restricting online advertising of HFSS products was announced. New legislative controls on the advertising of HFSS foods are expected to be brought into legislation in the UK in January 2024. In the present paper, the history of advertising restrictions in the UK and the evidence informing them is reviewed. There will also be a reflection on where further actions might be needed in due course.
... hanism of effect of TV exposure on overweight risk is undoubtedly multi factorial. It appears to operate independently from the reduced physical activity. Excessive TV exposure may instead operate through the extensive advertising messages for unhealthy foods targeted at very young children or from a tendency of children to snack while watching TV (Halford et. al, 2004). Dietz, (2004) showed a significant association between the development of obesity and high levels of TV watching. Steffen et. al, (2009) have consistently demonstrated positive associations between TV viewing (2 or more Hours per day) and ...
Obesity has a profound effect on a child's life. children who suffer from the obesity, also suffer from it after the adulthood. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of overweight/obesity among primary school children and related factors.
A cross-sectional study has been designed for a sample of subjects consists of (1110), aged between (6-12) years from the private and governmental primary schools.
The study has been conducted in Mosul city from the 1st of December 2011 to the 1st of April 2012.
Data were collected through the interview of the children which included the anthropometric measurements (height and weight) which done in the classroom and then the questionnaire is distributed for them to be answered by the one of child’s parents.
The data were analyzed through the application of descriptive statistical analysis that included (Frequency, Percentage, Chi square).
The findings reveals that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 20.5% and 4.2% among males respectively, while it was 7.7% and 19.8% among females respectively. The high percentage of overweight and obesity was at the ages (7.5, 8.5) among the males, whereas it was at the age (6.5,11,11.5) year among the females.
The study indicated that the type of school, socioeconomic status, type of feeding, type of transportation, watching TV, eating during TV watching, the length of daily playing outside home, eating fast food, sweetened beverages, sweets and fried food have significant effect on children Body Mass Index (BMI). While birth weight, vegetables, fruits, breakfast, number of home cooked meals and the weight of the parents have no significant effect on children BMI.
This study demonstrated baseline prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among children.
The study recommended that the families should have full awareness about healthy eating habit, physical activities, and about obesity and its consequences. School based programs should be introduced for the early prevention of the development of obesity. These program should not only focus on eating habit, physical activities, but also on the knowledge about obesity and related factors to it. Measures should be implemented by the government to prevent further increases in the numbers of overweight, obese school-age children and the associated health hazards.
... There is a great debate among parents, teachers, politicians, and marketers as to how the media contributes to the development of childhood obesity [1]. Recently, meta-analytic data [2][3][4] and literature reviews [1,5] summarizing a large corpus of empirical studies have suggested that children's confrontation with media content, particularly persuasive content-such as traditional TV commercials [6,7], product placements in movies [8], brand presentations in YouTube videos [9], or online advertisements [10,11]-impacts their food preferences and eating behaviors, particularly regarding the consumption of foods high in fat, salt, or sugar. ...
Background
Entertainment media content is often mentioned as one of the roots of children’s unhealthy food consumption. This might be due to the high quantity of unhealthy foods presented in children’s media environments. However, less is known about the role of the centrality of food placement, that is, whether foods are interacted with, consumed, verbally mentioned, or appear unobtrusively. We also lack longitudinal research measuring both children’s unhealthy and healthy food consumption behaviors as outcomes.
Objective
The aim is to connect content analytical data based on children’s actual media diet with panel data in order to explain children’s food preferences. Moreover, this study not only focuses on the amount of healthy and unhealthy foods children are exposed to, but also on how these foods are presented (ie, centrally or not). Furthermore, we looked at the question of how parental coviewing can diminish (or enhance) the effects of unhealthy (or healthy) food depictions, and we measured healthy and unhealthy consumption as dependent variables.
Methods
We conducted a 2-wave panel study with children and one of their parents (of 2250 parents contacted, 829 responded, for a response rate of 36.84%; 648 valid cases, ie, parent-child pairs, were used for analysis), with 6 months between the 2 panel waves. We linked the 2-wave panel data for the children and their parents to content analytical data for movies (n=113) and TV series (n=134; 3 randomly chosen episodes per TV series were used) that children were exposed to over the course of 6 months.
Results
There was no significant relationship between exposure to unhealthy food presentation and unhealthy (b=0.008; P=.07) or healthy (b=−0.003; P=.57) food consumption over time. Also, healthy food presentation was unrelated to unhealthy (b=0.009; P=.18) or healthy (b=0.000; P=.99) food consumption over time. However, there was a significant, positive interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on unhealthy food consumption (b=0.000; P=.03), suggesting that the effects of unhealthy food presentation rise with increasing levels of centrality. There was no interaction between unhealthy food presentation and presentation centrality on the consumption of healthy foods (b=0.000; P=.10). Also, exposure to healthy food presentation interacted with centrality (b=−0.001; P=.003). That is, when a healthy product was presented at maximum centrality, it led to less unhealthy food consumption in children. Coviewing did not interact with exposure to unhealthy foods when explaining unhealthy (b=0.003; P=.08) or healthy (b=−0.001; P=.70) food consumption.
Conclusions
We conclude that simply presenting more healthy foods is not sufficient to combat children’s unhealthy food preferences. Further regulations may be necessary with respect to representations of unhealthy foods in children’s media.
... Exposure to food marketing has been associated with increased preferences, attitudes and consumption of the marketed products 5 . Moreover, there is evidence that children are particularly susceptible to marketing and may change behaviors after brief bouts of exposure 6 . ...
Objective
Reducing children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is crucial to combat childhood obesity. We aimed to estimate the reduction of children’s exposure to food marketing under different policy scenarios and assess exposure differences by socioeconomic status.
Design
Data on children’s exposure to unhealthy food marketing was compiled from a previous cross-sectional study in which children (n=168) wore wearable cameras and GPS units for four consecutive days. For each exposure, we identified the setting, the marketing medium and food/beverage product category. We analyzed the percentage reduction in food marketing exposure for ten policy scenarios and by socioeconomic deprivation: 1) no product packaging, 2) no merchandise marketing, 3) no sugary drink marketing, 4) no confectionary marketing in schools, 5) no sugary drink marketing in schools, 6) no marketing in public spaces, 7) no marketing within 400m of schools, 8) no marketing within 400m of recreation venues, 9) no marketing within 400m of bus stops, and 10) no marketing within 400m of major roads.
Setting
Wellington region of New Zealand.
Participants
168 children aged 11-14 years.
Results
Exposure to food marketing varied by setting, marketing medium and product category. Among the 10 policy scenarios, the largest reductions were for plain packaging (60.3%), no sugary drink marketing (28.8%) and no marketing in public spaces (22.2%). There were no differences by socioeconomic deprivation.
Conclusions
The results suggest that plain packaging would result in the greatest decrease in children’s exposure to food marketing. However, given that children are regularly exposed to unhealthy food marketing in multiple settings through a range of marketing mediums, comprehensive bans are needed to protect children’s health.
... There is no ethical or moral justification for marketing food to children through enticing advertisements in schools, television, or any other means. A mere 30-second commercial can influence a child's food preferences [19], alter their existing preferences for food [20], and potentially impact their lifelong eating habits. The government, health organizations, and the public all bear a legal and ethical responsibility to safeguard children's health, ensuring that healthy food options are available and shielding them from the influence of advertisements in schools that promote junk food and unhealthy choices. ...
Background and Objectives: Childhood obesity is a pressing global health concern, particularly in low-and middle-income countries like Palestine. This study aims to address the prevalence of childhood obesity in Palestine and its association with the school food environment. The objective is to propose and advocate for the implementation of a "healthy schools' food policy" to promote the consumption of nutritious food while prohibiting the sale of unhealthy items. Methods: A comprehensive analysis of the sociocultural, economic, political, ethical, and legal contexts surrounding childhood obesity in Palestine was conducted. This included a review of existing studies, stakeholder analyses, and an evaluation of policy alternatives. A legislative strategy was developed to guide the implementation of the proposed policy. Results: The study identified the widespread prevalence of childhood obesity in Palestine, with contributing factors rooted in sociocultural, economic, and political contexts. The analysis of policy alternatives revealed that establishing and enforcing a written protocol for "Food and Beverage Services" in schools emerged as the most effective option. This policy approach received the highest score in terms of effectiveness, access and fairness, cost-effectiveness, and administrative and political feasibility. Conclusion: The findings highlight the urgent need for policy interventions to address childhood obesity in Palestine. The proposed "healthy schools' food policy" offers a promising avenue to promote nutritious food consumption while curbing the availability of unhealthy options. Collaborative efforts involving stakeholders, including schools, the Ministry of Education, healthcare professionals, parents, and the community, are crucial for successful policy implementation. Regular evaluations and community feedback will be essential to monitor the policy's impact and make necessary adjustments. This study underscores the significance of prioritizing children's health within the broader context of societal well-being.
... In marketing, the mere-exposure effect is frequently used to arouse positive feelings about a brand or a product through saturated advertising or a penetrative campaign (Baker et al., 1986). Scholars report that this effect has been particularly prevalent in the food industry (Halford et al., 2004;Harris et al., 2009;Pliner, 1982). Numerous studies have shown that exposure to televised food advertising increases consumption among children and adults (Andreyeva et al., 2011;Wong et al., 2020;Zimmerman & Shimoga, 2014). ...
Amid the pandemic, it is crucial to comprehend both people's preferred food choices and the factors influencing food consumption. This understanding not only guarantees a stable food supply but also plays a pivotal role in economic recovery during times of recession. In 2020, South Korean instant noodles experienced an unprecedented surge in exports, catapulting the nation to the forefront of the global instant noodle market. The surge in the popularity of instant noodles during the pandemic can be partly attributed to their unique characteristics. However, the South Korean film Parasite , which garnered global acclaim around the same time, prominently featured instant noodle products. This exposure led to an extraordinary increase in internet searches for Korean‐brand instant noodles. Therefore, this study utilized an interrupted time series model to investigate whether the surge in South Korean instant noodle exports was primarily a result of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic or the influence of the film. Our estimations indicate that the film's exposure effect predominantly explains the export boom of South Korean instant noodles.
... [1][2][3][4] Thus, within this environment, it is a daily challenge, for many, to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. 5,6 The aim of the present study was to investigate snacking behaviour in daily life as snacking is thought to be one of the contributors to weight gain. [7][8][9][10] More specifically, the present study investigated the effect of a health versus hedonic mindset on daily-life snacking behaviour. ...
... As propagandas mais transmitidas no atual estudo foram de alimentos do grupo dos cereais e tubérculos, leite e derivados, gorduras e açúcares. Halford et al. (2004) afirmam que os tipos de alimentos mais veiculados durante a programação infantil são principalmente cereais matinais, bebidas açucaradas, fast foods, doces e salgadinhos Todas as imagens desse estudo foram consideradas abusivas de acordo com o Artigo 2° da Resolução n° 163 do Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e Adolescente (CONANDA) que trata sobre a abusividade de propagandas direcionadas a crianças e adolescentes. (BRASIL, 2014b). ...
O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever os processos dietéticos presentes em propagandas de alimentos para crianças na televisão aberta brasileira. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de gravação da programação de duas emissoras de canal aberto do país durante três finais de semana. As propagandas foram organizadas considerando cinco itens. Os dados foram tabulados em planilhas e os produtos tiveram seus rótulos analisados e agrupados em três categorias para quantificar açúcar, sódio e gordura saturada de acordo com a legislação pertinente. Foram catalogados doze comerciais referentes a alimentos e bebidas em 36 horas de gravação. Os itens alimentares mais veiculados em todas as emissoras foram os alimentos ultraprocessados. Não houve nenhuma inserção de propagandas de alimentos como frutas, cereais, leguminosas e hortaliças. Todos os comerciais apresentaram estratégias para chamar à atenção da criança como personagens e brindes. Na análise da informação nutricional, todos os produtos foram classificados como alimentos com quantidade elevada de açúcar. Dessa forma, foi possível observar que a mídia televisiva utiliza de diversas estratégias publicitárias, mas não contribui para a promoção de hábitos alimentares saudáveis. Assim, existe a necessidade em fazer valer as leis relacionadas à publicidade e propaganda infantil existentes no país, sugerindo que haja um comprometimento das emissoras em divulgar alimentos saudáveis e/ou alertas para o consumo exacerbado de produtos prejudiciais à saúde. Palavras-chave: Marketing. Nutrição da Criança. Análise de Alimentos. AbstractThe objective of this work was to describe the dietary processes present in food advertisements for children on Brazilian open television. The data were obtained by recording the programming of two open-channel stations in the country during three weekends. The advertisements were organized considering five items. The data were tabulated in spreadsheets and the products had their labels analyzed and grouped into three categories to quantify sugar, sodium and saturated fat in accordance with the relevant legislation. Twelve commercials referring to food and beverages were cataloged in 36 hours of recording. The most aired food items on all stations were ultra-processed foods. There was no insertion of advertisements for foods such as fruits, cereals, legumes and vegetables. All commercials presented strategies to attract the child's attention, such as characters and gifts. In the analysis of nutritional information, all products were classified as foods with a high amount of sugar. Thus, it was possible to observe that the television media uses different advertising strategies, but does not contribute to the promotion of healthy eating habits. Thus, there was a need to enforce the laws related to advertising and advertising for children in the country, suggesting that there is a commitment by broadcasters to disseminate healthy foods and/or alerts to the exacerbated consumption of products harmful to health. Keywords: Marketing. Child Nutrition. Food Analysis.
... [1][2][3][4] Thus, within this environment, it is a daily challenge, for many, to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight. 5,6 The aim of the present study was to investigate snacking behaviour in daily life as snacking is thought to be one of the contributors to weight gain. [7][8][9][10] More specifically, the present study investigated the effect of a health versus hedonic mindset on daily-life snacking behaviour. ...
Background:
In today's obesogenic environment high-caloric palatable foods are omnipresent, making it hard for many to reach and maintain a healthy body weight. This study investigates the effects of a health versus hedonic mindset on daily-life snacking behaviour. The hypothesis is that a health mindset leads to reduced snacking behaviour compared to a hedonic mindset. This effect is expected to be most pronounced with high dietary restraint and least pronounced with high trait self-control.
Methods:
For 3 weeks, degree of craving and amount of snacks that were craved and consumed were assessed four times a day, using smartphone Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA). A total of 111 female participants (body mass index range: 20-23.5) were randomly assigned to a 1-week health (n = 53) or hedonic (n = 58) mindset, occurring in week 2 of the EMA protocol. The mindset manipulations consisted of text messages, focusing either on the enjoyment of tasty food (hedonic) or on healthy living and eating (health).
Results:
contrary to our hypotheses, mindset did not affect snacking behaviour. Instead, degree of craving and intake of snacks reduced significantly over time, not moderated by mindset, dietary restraint (Restraint Scale) or trait self-control (Brief Self-Control Scale). Importantly, this was not due to reduced compliance. Possibly, the reduced craving and snacking behaviour were due to monitoring and/or socially desirable answering tendencies. Additional time point analyses showed that craving was strongest in the late afternoon (3:30-5:00 PM), and-across mindset conditions-degree of craving correlated negatively with trait self-control.
Conclusions:
future studies could manipulate degree of monitoring and design individually tailored manipulations.
... As a result of rising levels of competitive pressure and the increased difficulty of acquiring new clients and keeping existing ones, the market has become more unpredictable. Therefore, marketers are making the establishment and maintenance of brand loyalty the central focus of their brand building operations that include the use of broadcast media (Halford, Gillespie, Brown, Pontin & Dovey, 2014). The capacity of marketers to measure, comprehend and capitalise on brand loyalty is essential to the management of consumer brand loyalty. ...
The book titled ‘‘Communication, Media and Society’’ takes a look at various
aspects of communication and media studies. The book is in twenty nine chapters that
interrogate various topics within the field of communication and media studies. The
chapters are scholarly thoughts on communication and media studies.
... Later, they were offered a choice of foods to eat. Compared with children who had watched TV without food adverts, children who had seen food advertisements ate more [3]. The same was true when children saw a celebrity on TV who was associated with advertisements for crisps, even though no food was shown [4]. ...
... High levels of screen time displace a substantial amount of habitual physical activity (PA), 3 and screen time before bed may delay bedtime and affect sleep in children. [4][5][6] Also, screen habits may alter dietary intake, partly due to higher exposure to food advertising that could influence caloric intake and promote unhealthy food choices, 7 but also in the absence of food advertising. 8 By affecting aetiological factors of body composition such as physical inactivity and sleep, screen time has been suggested to be associated with obesity in children. ...
BACKGROUND: Children spend increasing amounts of time on recreational screen media, which may lead to an obesogenic environment.
OBJECTIVES: We investigated the association of trajectories of screen time across ages 3, 5 and 7 years with body composition at age 7 in the Odense Child Cohort. METHODS: Data were collected in the Municipality of Odense, Denmark, between 2010 and 2019. Group-based trajectory modelling was applied to group participants into four trajectories of prospective parent-reported screen time. Body composition was as- sessed using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry with calculated fat-mass index (FMI) as the primary outcome. Primary models were linear multivariable regression models adjusted for participants' sex, age, birthweight, maternal origin, maternal education, maternal body-mass-index, and maternal age. Further models were adjusted for additional possible confounders. Selection bias was addressed by inverse probability weighting. RESULTS: In total, 803 children (48.2% female) were included in the primary analysis. Participants with screen time at all time points were assigned to four trajectory groups [constant low screen time (12.7%), low increase (36.3%), high increase between ages 3 and 5 (33.5%) and high increase in screen time (17.5%)]. Sample characteristics differed across missing data status and trajectories. Mean FMI (kg/m2) and standard deviation (SD) were 3.7 (SD 1.3) and 3.9 (SD 1.6) for the constant low versus high screen time, respectively. No differences in FMI were found between screen time trajectory groups at age 7 (adjusted mean difference 0.1 kg/m2, 95% confidence interval −0.3, 0.5 for constant low versus high screen time). No consistent associations between screen time groups and secondary body composition outcomes were found. CONCLUSION: Results from this study do not suggest that recreational screen time from age 3 to 7 years is associated with adiposity or other measures of body composition.
... Studies have shown that television advertisements have a high impact on the food intake, in that exposure to food advertisements does not only limit its effect on the perception of an individual on the production, but also promotes the consumption of such. 15,17 There is a shortage of studies exploring the knowledge and consumption practice of probiotics among mothers. Mostly, studies that have been conducted were done among medical students, medical practitioners and health care providers among others. ...
Objective. Mothers are exposed to various functional food components, including probiotics, which have a direct effect on the quality of their breast milk. Probiotics enhance the microbial composition of breast milk, making it more beneficial for the infant’s gut health. This study aimed to explore the extent of knowledge and dietary practices on probiotics among low- to middle-income healthy Filipino mothers in an urban area.Methods. Data was gathered using three focus group discussions (FGD) participated in by low- to middle-income healthy Filipino mothers residing in Barangays West Rembo and Rizal in Makati City, Philippines. Prior to the FGD, preliminary interviews of selected participants and market surveys were done to determine the food items to be included in the FGD questionnaire.Results. A total of 19 mothers participated in the FGDs. The most common probiotic sources identified were yogurt, fermented milk product (Yakult), miso and tausi. The most consumed probiotic source was fermented milk product (94.7% of participants), at least once a month; followed by powdered milk (78.9%), consumed daily. The most commonly reported influence for consumption of these food items was advertisements from television (89.5%). About 53% of the participants related probiotics to better digestion and increased immunity as heard from advertisements and through counselling by physicians. When asked to elaborate on how probiotics influence digestion and immunity, almost all participants had difficulty explaining the benefits.Conclusion. Although majority of the participants consumed food sources of probiotics, they had limited knowledge on its other non-food sources and benefits. In addition, the consumed food source was confined to the food item that was most advertised on television. Thus, there is a need for health and nutrition experts to exert a stronger influence in the community by disseminating information regarding probiotics.
... Ao investigar a escolha alimentar de crianças, Halford et al. (2007) mostraram que aquelas expostas a desenhos animados com publicidade de alimento apresentaram maior ingestão calórica em relação às expostas a desenhos animados sem publicidade [13] . Ainda, crianças com obesidade mostraram reconhecer mais as marcas publicitárias de alimentos [14] . ...
A indústria alimentícia investe em publicidade para manter seus clientes ativos. A publicidade mercadológica pode estar associada a compreensões equivocadas sobre alimentação, contribuindo para a consolidação de um ambiente que favorece o consumo de alimentos nutricionalmente inadequados, relacionados a piores condições de saúde. O objetivo deste trabalho foi revisar publicações científicas referentes a esse tipo de marketing e sua influência sobre o consumo de produtos alimentícios. Foi realizada revisão sistemática que contemplou artigos, dissertações e teses publicados a partir do ano 2000, indexados nas bases SciELO e Lilacs, resultando em 19 publicações que atenderam aos critérios de exigibilidade. Os estudos mostraram associação entre a publicidade mercadológica de alimentos não saudáveis, incluindo publicidades veiculadas na televisão, e escolhas alimentares, o que pode impactar negativamente o consumo alimentar e saúde da população, especialmente a infantil. Destaca-se a importância da regulação e restrição da publicidade mercadológica dos fabricantes e anunciantes de produtos alimentícios como uma das estratégias das políticas públicas para promoção de ambientes alimentares saudáveis, além de ressaltar a construção de ambientes que favoreçam e promovam a prática de atividade física e de lazer em segurança, principalmente para crianças, e o planejamento de ações de comunicação em saúde e marketing social focados na promoção da alimentação saudável.
... Several causal hypotheses have been proposed to explain why eating behavior would be inversely associated with television watching. One assumes that food advertising delivered by television watching affects adolescents' food selection (44)(45)(46), which makes children prefer unhealthy eating habits. In addition to this, the present study suggested that more than 2 h of television watching was associated with higher odds for smoking. ...
Background
In adolescents, excessive screen time leads to many adverse health outcomes and is associated with a variety of lifestyle behaviors. This study was conducted to investigate the associations between the two types of screen time and a variety of lifestyle behaviors in American adolescents.
Methods
Based on the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, this cross-sectional study was conducted. With the help of data collectors, participants self-reported screening time, lifestyle behaviors, and demographic data via well-validated tools.
Results
19% and 43.4% of the participants spent more than two hours a day watching television and using the computer, respectively, while the prevalence of physical inactivity and insufficient sleep was 75.1 and 74.4% respectively. Furthermore, 11.9, 7.3, 14.3, and 21.3% of the participants reported skipping fruits, vegetables, breakfast and milk, respectively. Moreover, the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco consumption and sexual activity was 26.8, 5.3, and 23.5% respectively. More than two hours of television time was significantly associated with high risks of fewer frequency for eating fruit (OR = 1.605, 95%CI: 1.308–1.970), vegetables (OR = 1.389, 95%CI: 1.029–1.873), and smoking (OR = 1.465, 95%CI: 1.088–1.972). Computer/video time for more than two hours was significantly associated with high risks of physical inactivity (OR = 1.724, 95%CI: 1.531–1.941), insufficient sleep (OR = 1.354, 95%CI: 1.151–1.592), and not eating fruit (OR = 1.434, 95%CI: 1.179–1.745).
Conclusion
Increased screen time may be associated with specific unhealthy lifestyle behaviors in adolescents. Furthermore, the associations between different types of screen time and various lifestyle behaviors varied.
... Studies have demonstrated that children are more susceptible to marketing messages (Garde et al., 2018). Unlike adults, children may lack the cognitive skills to understand the persuasive extent of marketing (Calvert, 2008) and have been found to modify their behavior and/or increase consumption after exposure to marketing Finan et al., 2020;Halford et al., 2004;Pitt et al., 2018). The World Health Organization has identified that the marketing of harmful products impacts on the realization of children's right to health and development, and has called for governments to regulate these marketing practices (Garde et al., 2018;World Health Organization, 2010). ...
Children's exposure to the marketing of harmful products in public outdoor spaces may influence their consumption of those products and affect health into adulthood. This study aimed to: i) examine the spatial distribution of children's exposure to three types of marketing-related ‘harms’ (alcohol, unhealthy food, and gambling) in outdoor spaces in the Wellington region, New Zealand/Aotearoa; ii) compare differences in the distribution of harms by socioeconomic deprivation; and iii) estimate the effectiveness of different policies that ban such marketing. Data were from 122 children aged 11–13y who wore wearable cameras and GPS devices for four consecutive days from July 2014 to June 2015. Images were analysed to identify harmful product marketing exposures in public outdoor spaces. Eight policy scenarios were examined to identify the effectiveness of marketing bans, for all children and by socioeconomic deprivation. Children's ratio of harmful marketing was higher for children from high deprivation households and was also found to cluster, with hots spots observed around city centers. The effectiveness of marketing bans depended on the target setting and ban area, with banning 400 m around bus stops leading to the largest reduction. Effectiveness varied also by type of harm and socioeconomic deprivation. For example, banning alcohol marketing in residential areas was estimated to have a larger effect on exposure reduction for children from high deprivation households. Our findings suggest that alcohol, unhealthy food and gambling marketing often cluster outdoors and that targeted bans of such marketing would likely improve child health and, for some banning scenarios, promote equity.
... Analysis of the nutritional qualities of the dishes created on TV cookery shows, such as MasterChef (Kirkwood, 2017), reveals that the calorie-count tends to be much higher than recommended by nutritional guidelines for people's actual consumption (Howard, Adams, & White, 2012; See also Trattner, Elsweiler, & Howard, 2017, for a comparison between TV and the Internet; with the comparison not always being good for the internet). The problem is that calorie counts on food television may influence people's actual patterns of food consumption (Bodenlos & Wormuth, 2013; see also Adema, 2000;Boyland et al., 2011;Halford, Gillespie, Brown, Pontin, & Dovey, 2004;Lioutas & Tzimitra-Kalogianni, 2015;Liu & Bailey, 2020. ...
In recent years, a growing number of academic researchers, as well as many marketing and design practitioners, have uncovered a variety of factors that would appear to enhance the visual attractiveness, or deliciousness, of food images to the typical consumer. This review, which contains both narrative and systematic elements, critically evaluates the literature concerning the various factors influencing the eye appeal of food images, no matter whether there is an edible food stimulus physically present in front of the viewer or not. We start by summarizing the evidence concerning the human brain’s ability to rapidly determine energy-density in a visual scene and pay attention accordingly. Next, we focus on the importance of embodied mental simulation when it comes to enhancing visual deliciousness. Thereafter, we review the literature on the importance of visual aesthetic features in eye-appeal. The wide range of visual attributes that help to enhance food attractiveness include symmetry, shape, freshness, glossiness, dynamic-presentation, etc. The review concludes with sections on the importance of background/ambient lighting/colour, and the tricks used by those who digitally manipulate images. Taken together, therefore, many different factors ultimately influence the visual deliciousness of food images.
... Regarding Proposition 2, our results indicate that watching television has a significant and negative relation to both implicit and explicit measures, suggesting that unhealthy food becomes more appealing and healthy food becomes less appealing with increasing average daily time spent watching television. This result gives credence to fears regarding the effect of television on children's attitudes toward food (Halford, Gillespie, Brown, Pontin, & Dovey, 2004), particularly when advertisements for foods high in fat, salt, and sugar dominate (Lewis & Hill, 1998). However, further research is warranted to explore whether the relations between watching television and food attitudes are causal or correlational. ...
This cross-sectional study investigates the implicit and explicit food attitudes of 1,412 Croatian children (5–9 years old) and extends our knowledge regarding how those attitudes relate to food behavior, while accounting for the potential influence of age and environmental variables such as watching television and poverty. While our findings corroborate previous work to show that children's explicit attitudes tend to be more positive toward unhealthy than healthy foods, we also find that implicit attitudes are actually more positive toward healthy than unhealthy foods. Both implicit and explicit attitudes toward healthy foods grew more positive with age. More positive attitudes were associated with (a) a stronger belief that healthy foods “make me strong” and (b) greater consumption of healthy foods. Watching television was associated with more favorable attitudes toward unhealthy foods. Our study demonstrates how accounting for both implicit and explicit attitudes across different age groups aids understanding of children's food-related beliefs and behaviors. These insights can help health policy makers and parents instill positive attitudes toward healthy food among children and increase their consumption of healthy foods.
... Public consumption can be grouped into types of food and non-food consumption [4]. Food consumption is public expenditure used to meet food needs, consisting of grains, vegetables, fruits, and beverages [5]. ...
Islam teaches Muslims to practice non-food consumption based on Islamic teaching and values. Some Muslims have followed Islamic teaching in daily non-food consumption, while other Muslims have consumptive behavior in their daily consumption. This study, therefore, conducted a study within Muslim society in Palu city Indonesia to understand their non-food consumption pattern from an Islamic perspective. The objective of this study is to provide insight regarding Muslim consumption compliance with Islamic teaching. This study was carried out with a qualitative method, and the data were gathered through in-depth interviews with the local religious Muslim citizens and direct observation. The results of this study show that Muslim communities have followed Islamic teaching in their daily non-food consumption by prioritizing primer non-food needs. However, some Muslims also consumed excessive non-food things such as clothes due to being influenced by the trend in mode. Muslim scholars have played important roles in educating Muslim communities to practice consumption based on Islamic teaching. The limitation of this study is that we did not consider economic growth but we only focused on the appropriateness of non-food consumption according to Islamic law perspective. Further study may focus on Muslim community consumption by considering Islamic economic calculation.
... The detrimental effects of screen time in general, and watching TV in particular, have been attributed to food advertisements and potential conditioning to eat while watching TV, as well as, distraction and disruption of food memory along with the interruption of physiological food regulation [42]. Food advertising not only influences food consumption but also affects food preference that can lead to a greater consumption of sweet and high-fat savory foods while decreasing the intake of fruits and vegetables [55,56]. Dietary intake also increases during screenbased activities, even in the absence of food advertisements [57,58]. ...
Poor lifestyle choices in adolescents, including low physical activity (PA), excess screen time, and unhealthy dietary habits, are major threats to their health in the future. Unhealthy behaviors such as insufficient PA, high TV time, and poor dietary choices also tend to cluster, but information on the combined association of screen time, sports participation, and dietary habits is limited in Austrian youth. To examine the association among these behaviors, 165 adolescents (74 girls and 91 boys) between 11 and 14 years of age completed a food frequency questionnaire during regular class hours. Additionally, participants reported whether they participated in club sports and whether they had a TV in the bedroom. The results showed that there were no interaction effects of club sports participation and TV in the bedroom on dietary habits. There were also no significant associations between participation in club sports and dietary habits. Having a TV in the bedroom, however, was associated with more frequent consumption of fast food and soft drinks. These results highlight the detrimental effects of unsupervised access to a TV on dietary habits in youth. As many lifestyle habits are established during adolescence and retained in adulthood, this age is important to develop a healthy lifestyle. Although club sports provide a viable setting to promote health, the results of this study indicate that the potential of club sports to educate children on nutrition is underused.
... Participants were asked to indicate how many hours per day they spend on four activities using mobile devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets): watching TV, watching online videos, playing games, and social networking. This instrument was adapted from similar measurements previously used for young adolescents and school children (Chamberlain et al. 2006;Halford et al. 2004). The total amount of hours per day of mobile media use was created by summing up all four items. ...
Mobile media is an emerging factor that may affect children’s dietary behaviors in the family environment. However, little research has examined associations between mobile media use and children’s food intake within family units. Particularly, though studies have suggested that parents’ mobile media use can affect parental mediation and distract parenting, few have examined the interpersonal associations between parents’ mobile media use and their child’s food consumption while controlling for the interdependence between parents and children. Adopting the actor-partner interdependence model, this research investigates the dyadic associations between mobile media use and food consumption in parent-child dyads. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Singapore with a national sample of 291 children aged 7–18 years and their parents (i.e., 291 parent-child dyads). Daily mobile media use and daily healthy and unhealthy food intake were measured for both children and parents. Findings demonstrated that parents’ mobile media use was associated with both their own and their child’s healthy and unhealthy food intake. In addition, children’s mobile media use was associated with their own unhealthy food intake but not healthy food intake after controlling for covariations of variables between parents and children. Findings were generally consistent across children’s age groups. This research suggests that parents’ mobile media use has substantial impacts on their child’s eating behaviors, and children’s healthy food intake may be better explained by parental influences than by their own mobile media use. This study provides new insights into children obesity prevention efforts based on reduced mobile media use in the family environment.
... It has also been shown that exposure to food advertising is associated with a more frequent selection of less healthy foods and that it leads to an overall increase in food intake (Halford et al., 2004(Halford et al., , 2007(Halford et al., , 2008aWiecha et al., 2006). Boynton-Jarrett et al. (2003) demonstrated that increased television viewing among children was associated with reduced consumption of fruit and vegetables. ...
Obesity, and particularly childhood obesity, is considered an epidemic by the WHO because of the health problems it causes and its impact on the lives and environment of those who suffer from it. In this article, the term “obesogenic features” refers to the set of supposedly aggravating risk factors that could intensify the proven effect on minors of exposure to food-related media content. The article explores the characteristics of food-related content in YouTube videos aimed at children, with the objective of identifying videos that pose a high risk due to the presence of obesogenic arguments, as well as videos with innovative media trends. It presents an exploratory study of 293 videos (22 hr 41 min) aimed at children and containing food and/or food brands, posted from May 2020 to April 2021 on 28 YouTube channels of food brands and child YouTubers with the largest numbers of subscribers. Child YouTubers often appear to explicitly promote calorie intake as a diet alternative and to disseminate content in which the presence of low-nutrition foods undermines childhood obesity prevention policies. The sensitivity of this target audience and the highly emotional nature of the formats in which messages with obesogenic features appear, such as “challenges,” point to an urgent need to adopt ethical standards and legal measures to regulate such content.
Background
Food and beverage marketing is an important influence on the health and diets of adolescents. Food and beverage companies spend billions of dollars annually on advertisements to promote their products and are increasingly focusing on social media influencers. Influencer product endorsements blur the line between entertainment and marketing.
Objective
This study aimed to quantify how often TikTok influencers promote products from food and beverage brands and document the range of ways they disclose brand relationships in their content.
Methods
We collected up to 100 videos posted on or before July 1, 2022, from each of the top 100 influencers on TikTok in the United States and recorded information about the influencer (eg, number of followers) and video (eg, number of views and likes). For each video that contained food or beverage products, we identified the main product featured. A team of research assistants then coded each video for how the product was featured (ie, in the video, audio, or caption) and, for branded products, whether the video was accompanied by any disclosures of brand relationships. Average pairwise percentage agreement among coders was 92%, and average pairwise Cohen κ was 0.82.
Results
Among the 8871 videos from 97 influencers that made up the final analytical sample, we identified 1360 videos (15.3%) that featured at least one food or beverage product. These 1360 videos were viewed >9 million times and received >1 million likes each. Nearly half (n=648, 47.6%) of the videos featured a branded product. Most videos featuring a branded product did not contain a brand relationship disclosure (n=449, 69.3%). Among videos that disclosed a brand relationship, influencers used 10 different types of disclosures. Tagging a brand in the video’s caption was the most common disclosure method (n=182, 28.1%). Six types of caption hashtags were used to disclose brand relationships, including #[brandname] (n=63, 9.7%) and #ad (n=30, 4.6%). Only 1 video (0.2%) made use of TikTok’s official disclosure label and only 1 video (0.2%) verbally mentioned a contractual agreement with a brand.
Conclusions
Among the food and beverage videos with disclosures we identified, the most frequently used mechanism—tagging the brand—did not clearly differentiate between sponsored content and the influencer trying to attract a brand or followers who may like that brand. Social media users, particularly adolescents, need clearer, more robust disclosures from influencers to protect against the undue influence of food marketing. These findings may also inform calls for the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative—the largest self-regulatory pledge to reduce unhealthy food marketing—to include older adolescents, who are heavily targeted by food and beverage companies on social media.
Background
In Australia, there are concerns that unrestricted junk food advertising during sports broadcasts increases short‐term junk food consumption among viewers. Therefore, the present study aimed to estimate the impact of junk food and anti‐junk food advertising on consumption inclinations.
Methods
We conducted a content analysis across a sample ( N = 16) of Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) matches to determine the prevalence of junk food and anti‐junk food advertising video clips. We also exposed participants ( N = 428) to a single randomly selected junk food advertisement or a single anti‐junk food advertisement and measured the immediate impact on craving and consumption intentions for both healthy weight and high body mass index (BMI) participants.
Results
Junk food and anti‐junk food advertising video clips comprised 10.85% and .003% of all advertisements across the broadcasts, respectively. For both healthy and overweight participants, junk food advertisement exposure did not increase immediate craving or consumption intentions. However, decreases were observed in craving and consumption intentions following an anti‐junk food advertisement.
Conclusions
Junk food advertising prevalence across national sports was high. Junk food advertisements did not increase immediate inclinations to consume junk food, but an anti‐junk food advertisement was effective in reducing immediate craving and consumption intentions, particularly for healthy BMI participants.
So What?
Given the potential efficacy of health promotion adverts, governments should consider investing in a higher frequency of health messages during broadcasts that are known to readily promote junk food, such as national sports.
The purpose of this research is to study the effect of TV advertisement on children's decision making and how TV advertisements are affecting the young audiences and their buying nature. The study was conducted using primary data. A close-ended questionnaire was prepared for the parents of children between the age group of 5 to 10 years. A population of 200 parents were selected who are staying in Ranchi district and all families have a TV set at home. On analysis, it was found that most TV advertisements focus on children because they are easy to influence. Television is not only selling entertainment but sowing unhealthy habits in them. Most advertisements were of fast foods, ice cream, chocolates, packed juices, and cold drink. The survey suggests that these advertisements influence children's behavior which eventually lead to unhealthy and indisciplined lifestyle.
Nutrition transition may have influenced processed food consumption, particularly in middle-income countries like Pakistan. The role of processed foods in nutrition transition has been receiving greater analysis, given that such foods tend to be high in refined sugars, salt, sodium and fats (saturated and trans). The excessive consumption of these is associated with obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs). To find out the factors contributing towards processed food consumption and frequency of consumption on weekly basis among adolescents of schoolgoing age in Karachi across sectional survey has been conducted in this study, pertaining to six districts of Karachi with a sample size of 478 adolescents. This was done using a multistage simple random sampling technique. A validated ultraprocessed food consumption survey questionnaire was adopted. Basic demographics, factors promoting consumption of processed food items and weekly consumption pattern of different items were investigated in school-going adolescents. Of the total, around 92% of a dolescents consumed processed food on weekly basis due to taste (64%) and diversified range of items (41%). Out of these, males (59%) and older adolescents (52.3%) were consuming more processed food. Affordability (98%) and availability (94%) were found as the two main factors for the high consumption of processed food, whereas print and electronic media advertisements (91%), peer pressure (83%) and women employment (59%) were found as the promoting factors for excessive consumption. The consumable items included cold drinks (76%), breads and buns (68%), Banaspati ghee (67%), butter (64%), tetra pack sweetened milks (60%), dawn paratha (44%), jams and marmalades (43%), crisps and snacks (42%), fruit juices (40%), and chocolates (39%). Processed food consumption and its major impact on health are commonly seen in adolescent group. Convenience, affordable prices, peer influences, and heavy marketing of processed and fast food has increased the level of consumption. The study is a preliminary investigation survey providing some evidence on ultra-processed food consumption among school-going adolescents in Karachi. Future research should be done on effective nutrition intervention and promotion strategies to reduce excessive consumption of processed food among the said age group.
Ali K, Ameen SS, Mehboob MA. Comparison of Intraocular Pressure Measurement by Goldmann Applanation Tonometry and Pneumotonometry in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. J Bahria Uni Med Dental Coll Sep - Dec 2016;6(4):209-2012.
Bu çalışmada günümüzde son derece popüler olan mukbang videolarının bireyler üzerinde oluşturduğu motivasyonların belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini Eskişehir’ de yaşayan ve mukbang videoları izleyen bireyler oluşturmaktadır. Katılımcıların belirlenmesi aşamasında her görüşme başlangıcında bireylere sosyal medyada bu videoları izleyip izlemedikleri sorulmuş olup izlemeyenler araştırmaya dahil edilmemiştir. Katılımcıların belirlenmesi için basit rastgele örneklem yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Mukbang videoları izleyen 20 kişiye ulaşılmıştır. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak yarı yapılandırılmış 9 sorudan oluşan görüşme formu kullanılmıştır. Görüşmeler 10 - 25 Nisan 2023 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiş olup, 15-28 dakika arasında sürmüştür. Verilerin çözümünde nitel veri analizi yöntemlerinden betimsel analiz yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan analizler sonucunda mukbang videolarının oldukça ilgi gördüğü, birçok katılımcının bu videoları rutin bir şekilde izlediği ve hayatına adapte ettiği tespit edilmiştir. Dahası yayın esnasında tüketilen yiyecek miktarının fazlalığı, fenomenin karşısında yer alan yemeği bitirme hızı ya da kendi yemek kültürümüzde yer almayan yiyeceklerin tüketilmesi katılımcılarda şaşkınlık, hayret ve şoka girme gibi duygular uyandırmaktadır. Bulgular doğrultusunda ayrıca mukbang videolarının rutin yemek yeme alışkanlıkları üzerinde bir etkisi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Katılımcıların mukbang videolarını izledikleri esnada kendilerini tok hissetmelerine rağmen iştahlarının arttığı ve fast-food yeme veya restorana gitme eğilimlerinin oluştuğu sonucuna varılmıştır.
Background of study: Advertising is a form of communication used to promote or sell something. Children spend many hours daily watching television. Increased exposure to television advertisement is associated with increased consumption of product advertised. Objectives:To assess the impact of viewing television advertisement on the behaviour of children as perceived by parents. Methods: An exploratory study was conducted on 100 parents of children in age group of (3-12 years) which were selected by convenience sampling technique. Result: All children watch television and television advertisements; from which 60% spend <30 minute on television. About 73% of children give preference to food advertisements. Majority (83%) of parents reported that advertisements help in learning good habits and they also reported that 88% demand chocolate, candies and jellies after watching television advertisements. Three fourth i.e. 74% said that their children show temper-tantrum due to effect of advertisements
Child well-being is an indispensable and often a complex part of most parents’ daily concerns. In addition to the parenting styles and social interactions inside or outside one’s primary environment, urbanized living and contemporary lifestyle habits have brought into focus the attitudes and behaviors displayed by parents or caregivers with subtle to pronounced impact on children sharing the same household. As we transition through these changes, a shift in focus from mere survival to physical and psychological well-being is imperative. Driven by the complexities of the new-age social and economic trends, the chapter illustrates a socio-ecological approach to assay the transactional individual orientations, life choices, and community-based indicators of child health. Agents of consumerism showcase conspicuous consumer socialization and materialism, including dietary habits and brand imaging which impinges upon child health, identity, and self-esteem. Parents’ work–life choices and an apparent insufficiency of resources to cope with the work–life conflict, stress, and burnout, create an unhealthy environment for the children where they can be exposed to adult behaviors ranging from substance abuse to violence. Finally, lifestyle choices including sedentary living, poor sleep hygiene, and a surge in screen time and digital dependence are leaving an indelible mark on the child’s own life choices and future health. We purport to unravel the modern connotations of child empowerment and autonomy alongside their diverse child well-being outcomes in our pursuit of desirable nurturing.
Background: Food advertisement exposure is associated with children's increased caloric intake, but little is known about food/beverage placements in child-oriented educational YouTube videos. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of food/beverages in these videos and assess their nutritional quality. Methods: Researchers identified child-oriented educational YouTube videos from 2020, using keyword searches. We coded the names of featured food/beverages, coded how the food/beverages were interacted with, quantified the number of minutes the food/beverages appeared, and assessed the nutritional quality of the food/beverages. Results: A sample of 400 videos with the highest number of views was identified, 165 of which featured food/beverages. These 165 videos were collectively viewed over 1.1 billion times. Among these videos, 108 (67.4%) featured unhealthy foods and 86 (52.1%) featured branded products. Most food/beverages were used in experiment/tutorials (n = 143, 86.7%). Of the 165 videos featuring food/beverages, 91 (55.2%) did not depict food/beverages in their video thumbnail. Conclusions: While unhealthy food/beverages appear frequently in child-oriented educational YouTube videos, parents and teachers may not be aware of the presence of branded food/beverage products in these videos that could influence their children's food and brand preferences. The Federal Trade Commission should collect data on food and beverage company sponsorship of educational videos aimed at children and adolescents.
Media consuption is a term in “sociology” that describes the individuals that organize information on the basis of the use of produced goods, rather than on the axis of services and production. Mediums that fall under the scope of media consumption include radio, television, computer, mobile phones, newspaper, and magazine formats. The usage patterns and applications of these tools are internet, music, movies, games, etc. Among children between the ages of 5 and 8, those who do not use computers represent a small percentage of 10%. Even within this age group, a large majority know how to use computers. More than half of children under the age of 8 have played games and watched videos at least once via a smartphone, iPod, iPad or similar device. According to a US study, children spend about 9 hours a day on the screen. Besides this, despite all the options, listening to music and watching television for children and young people continue to be a favorite activity. This paper further explores the impact of media consumption on children's development.
This study discusses access to information and communication technology (ICT) in the context of food security in Soshanguve, a slum area of The City of Tshwane, the administrative Capital of South Africa. City dwellers access food from retail outlets in a country where dispatching food is a lucrative business. Hence, food price increases pose challenges to urban households. The public broadcaster (i.e., South African Broadcasting Corporation, other private television stations (eTV, eNCA, and radio stations broadcast food marketing information through eleven official languages. Digital food marketing through cellular phone networks is also on the rise. ICT is a potential tool in the fight against food insecurity and hunger, since its use and range of application continue to grow at astonishing rates. Using questions contained in the USAID developed Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), questionnaires were administered to 300 randomly selected households in Soshanguve. Respondents were asked of their experiences of food insecurity (access) with a recall period of four weeks (30 days). Food secure households can utilise ICT tools in any manner to meet their food security needs. Our study finds that ICT access is positively associated with household food security. Transactional purchases of items on credit using cellular or landline telephony are, in particular, important in enhancing food security. Otherwise, households could beg for or borrow food from neighbours. Only the educated in Soshanguve purchase food items online by using computer access. Younger, single, educated, employed individuals mostly use ICT to advance the course of their food security.
This paper explores messages about foods in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first book of J. K. Rowling’s popular Harry Potter series. This book is widely read by today’s youth, and as such, the food-related content may help shape their expectations about what foods are desirable. Of interest was how frequently nutrient-dense and nutrient-poor foods are depicted, and with what associated affect, whether positive, neutral, or negative. All mentions of foods and beverages in the book were identified, counted, and coded into broader categories such as sweets, vegetables, and alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. Each food reference was coded for affect. The food category most frequently depicted, and most often with positive affect, was sweets. Other foods, such as vegetables, were depicted less frequently and less often with positive affect. The implications of these food messages to preadolescents’ and adolescents’ health are considered.
The detrimental impact of currently disproportionate amounts of digital food advertising for processed foods high in sugar, salt, and fat (HSSF) on children's food intake and dietary health is well-documented. The potential of digital healthy food advertising to encourage healthy eating in children is much less researched. A pre-test post-test control group design was used to compare the effect of specifically designed, television-style advertisements for healthy food versus toys on 172 three-to seven-year-old children's exclusively healthy food intake (vegetable, fruit, whole-grain) in five nurseries in Germany. Within- and between-group comparisons demonstrated the effectiveness of healthy food advertising exposure to increase children's healthy food intake. Three exposures to a 1-min-advertisement for healthy food were sufficient to increase children's healthy food intake by as much as three portions. Children in the control condition ate less healthy foods following viewing of a control advertisement (a matched toy advertisement). We concluded that digital healthy food advertising is likely to increase children's healthy food intake sufficiently to help children meet daily recommended amounts of vegetables, fruit, or whole-grain bread, and that this encouragement may be required as decreases in healthy food intake were found when healthy foods were merely available.
We examined relationships between the presence of television during meals and children's food consumption patterns to test whether children's overall food consumption patterns, including foods not normally advertised, vary systematically with the extent to which television is part of normal mealtime routines.
Ninety-one parent-child pairs from suburbs adjacent to Washington, DC, recruited via advertisements and word of mouth, participated. Children were in the fourth, fifth, or sixth grades. Socioeconomic data and information on television use were collected during survey interviews. Three nonconsecutive 24-hour dietary recalls, conducted with each child, were used to construct nutrient and food intake outcome variables. Independent sample t tests were used to compare mean food and nutrient intakes of children from families in which the television was usually on during 2 or more meals (n = 41) to those of children from families in which the television was either never on or only on during one meal (n = 50). Multiple linear regression models, controlling for socioeconomic factors and other covariates, were used to test strength of associations between television and children's consumption of food groups and nutrients.
Children from families with high television use derived, on average, 6% more of their total daily energy intake from meats; 5% more from pizza, salty snacks, and soda; and nearly 5% less of their energy intake from fruits, vegetables, and juices than did children from families with low television use. Associations between television and children's consumption of food groups remained statistically significant in multiple linear regression models that controlled for socioeconomic factors and other covariates. Children from high television families derived less of their total energy from carbohydrate and consumed twice as much caffeine as children from low television families. There continued to be a significant association between television and children's consumption of caffeine when these relationships were tested in multiple linear regression models.
The dietary patterns of children from families in which television viewing is a normal part of meal routines may include fewer fruits and vegetables and more pizzas, snack foods, and sodas than the dietary patterns of children from families in which television viewing and eating are separate activities.
To examine whether televised food commercials influence preschool children's food preferences.
In this randomized, controlled trial, preschool children viewed a videotape of a popular children's cartoon either with or without embedded commercials. Children were then asked to identify their preferences from pairs of similar products, one of which was advertised in the videotape with embedded commercials. Preschoolers' parents were interviewed to determine children's demographic characteristics and media use patterns.
Forty-six 2- to 6-year-olds from a Head Start program in northern California.
For demographic and media use characteristics, univariate data were examined and Student t and chi 2 tests were used to test for differences between the control and treatment groups. We calculated the Cochran Q statistic to assess whether the proportion of those choosing advertised food items was significantly higher in the treatment group than in the control group.
Children exposed to the videotape with embedded commercials were significantly more likely to choose the advertised items than children who saw the same videotape without commercials (Qdiff = 8.13, df = 1, P < .01).
Even brief exposures to televised food commercials can influence preschool children's food preferences. Nutritionists and health educators should advise parents to limit their preschooler's exposure to television advertisements. Furthermore, advocates should raise the public policy issue of advertising and young children, especially given the recent epidemic of childhood obesity and the ever-changing media environment.
To prospectively examine the relation between television watching and body fat change in children from preschool to early adolescence.
In a longitudinal study, 106 children were enrolled during preschool years (mean age 4.0 y) and followed into early adolescence (mean age 11.1 y). Parents completed an annual questionnaire on the child's television and video habits. Body mass index (BMI), triceps skinfolds, and sum of five skinfolds were recorded yearly at annual clinic visits. Longitudinal statistical analyses were carried out using mixed modeling procedures to control for potential confounding by a number of factors.
Television watching was an independent predictor of the change in the child's BMI, triceps, and sum of five skinfolds throughout childhood. Its effect was only slightly attenuated by controlling for the baseline body fat, level of physical activity (as measured repeatedly by Caltrac accelerometer), percent of calories from fat, total calorie intake, or the parents' BMI or education. By age 11, children who watched 3.0 h or more of television per day had a mean sum of skinfolds of 106.2 mm, compared with a mean sum of skinfolds of 76.5 mm for those who watched less than 1.75 h per day (P=0.007). Furthermore, the adverse effect of television viewing was worse for those children who were also sedentary or had a higher-fat diet.
Children who watched the most television during childhood had the greatest increase in body fat over time. Healthy lifestyle education designed to prevent obesity and its consequences should target television-watching habits of children.
The development of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) with scales for restrained, emotional, and external eating is described. Factor analyses have shown that all items on restrained and external eating each have high loadings on one factor, but items on emotional eating have two dimensions, one dealing with eating in response to diffuse emotions, and the other with eating in response to clearly labelled emotions. The pattern of corrected item-total correlation coefficients and of the factors was very similar for various subsamples, which indicates a high degree of stability of dimensions on the eating behavior scales. The norms and Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scales and also the Pearson's correlation coefficients to assess interrelationships between scales indicate that the scales have a high internal consistency and factorial validity. However, their external validity has yet to be investigated.
Currently there is not an adequate data base from which it can be asserted that exposure to television food commercials causes children to influence the consumer behavior of their parents. Therefore, Study 1 sought to address this important issue. Study 2, on the other hand, sought to determine whether mothers provide alternative nutritional information while watching television food commercials with their children. Fifty-seven mothers and their children were participants in Study 1. The mother-child pairs were assigned randomly to one of the two experimental conditions or to a control condition. The purchase influencing attempts of the child were recorded in a store created for this investigation. It was found in Study 1 that children assigned to view a cartoon program that contained food advertisements made more bids for the advertised food than did children in a control condition. In Study 2, it was revealed that mothers do not provide competing pieces of nutritional information when they watch television food commercials with their children.
The development of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) with scales for restrained, emotional, and external eating is described. Factor analyses have shown that all items on restrained and external eating each have high loadings on one factor, but items on emotional eating have two dimensions, one dealing with eating in response to diffuse emotions, and the other with eating in response to clearly labelled emotions. The pattern of corrected item-total correlation coefficients and of the factors was very similar for various subsamples, which indicates a high degree of stability of dimensions on the eating behavior scales. The norms and Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the scales and also the Pearson's correlation coefficients to assess interrelationships between scales indicate that the scales have a high internal consistency and factorial validity. However, their external validity has yet to be investigated.
Context Some observational studies have found an association between television
viewing and child and adolescent adiposity.Objective To assess the effects of reducing television, videotape, and video game
use on changes in adiposity, physical activity, and dietary intake.Design Randomized controlled school-based trial conducted from September 1996
to April 1997.Setting Two sociodemographically and scholastically matched public elementary
schools in San Jose, Calif.Participants Of 198 third- and fourth-grade students, who were given parental consent
to participate, 192 students (mean age, 8.9 years) completed the study.Intervention Children in 1 elementary school received an 18-lesson, 6-month classroom
curriculum to reduce television, videotape, and video game use.Main Outcome Measures Changes in measures of height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, waist
and hip circumferences, and cardiorespiratory fitness; self-reported media
use, physical activity, and dietary behaviors; and parental report of child
and family behaviors. The primary outcome measure was body mass index, calculated
as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.Results Compared with controls, children in the intervention group had statistically
significant relative decreases in body mass index (intervention vs control
change: 18.38 to 18.67 kg/m2 vs 18.10 to 18.81 kg/m2,
respectively; adjusted difference −0.45 kg/m2 [95% confidence
interval {CI}, −0.73 to −0.17]; P=.002),
triceps skinfold thickness (intervention vs control change: 14.55 to 15.47
mm vs 13.97 to 16.46 mm, respectively; adjusted difference, −1.47 mm
[95% CI, −2.41 to −0.54]; P=.002), waist
circumference (intervention vs control change: 60.48 to 63.57 cm vs 59.51
to 64.73 cm, respectively; adjusted difference, −2.30 cm [95% CI, −3.27
to −1.33]; P<.001), and waist-to-hip ratio
(intervention vs control change: 0.83 to 0.83 vs 0.82 to 0.84, respectively;
adjusted difference, −0.02 [95% CI, −0.03 to −0.01]; P<.001). Relative to controls, intervention group changes
were accompanied by statistically significant decreases in children's reported
television viewing and meals eaten in front of the television. There were
no statistically significant differences between groups for changes in high-fat
food intake, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and cardiorespiratory
fitness.Conclusions Reducing television, videotape, and video game use may be a promising,
population-based approach to prevent childhood obesity.
To assess the effect of television viewing on subsequent change in body mass index (BMI=kg/m(2)) percentiles (BMI%) in adolescence.
Data were drawn from the California Teen Longitudinal Survey of adolescents 12 to 17 years old with baseline assessment in 1993 and follow-up in 1996. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate BMI and derive age-specific and sex-specific BMI%. Hours of television watched per day were obtained at baseline (BTV). The relations of BTV and BMI percentiles both at baseline and after 3 years were assessed with linear regression modeling.
Of 2223 adolescents (52% male, 68% white), 5.85% (n=130) were overweight (BMI > or =95th percentile) at baseline and 5.40% (n=120) at follow-up. Mean BTV was 2.85 (SD, 1.98). In adjusted models, with each additional hour of BTV, the baseline BMI% increased by.9, and the follow-up BMI% increased by.47. Adolescents who watched more than 2 hours of television a day were twice as likely to be overweight at follow-up as adolescents who watched < or =2 hours.
Television viewing leads to a subsequent increase in BMI percentiles and overweight. Efforts to decrease overweight should consider interventions to reduce television time.
Objective: To explore whether food choices are linked to the extent of television watching among teenagers.Design: A representative state-wide sample of 2082 junior high school students (aged 12–15 years) was surveyed cross-sectionally in Tasmania, Australia. Respondents completed a printed questionnaire, which asked inter alia how much time subjects spent watching television, how frequently they consumed each of 22 foods, their socio-demographic characteristics and their local dietary milieu (i.e. the frequency of usage of each food by parents and friends).Results: Respondents watched television for an average of 3.3 h per day (s.d. 1.9 h). For 18 of the 22 foods, there was a significant (P<0.01) linear relation between hours of television watched per day and frequency of consumption of the food. For 10 of the 22 foods, it remained significant even after the addition of several predictor variables reflecting socio-demographic characteristics and the frequency of consumption of the food by parents and friends. Students who watched television more extensively tended to eat ‘healthy’ foods less often and ‘unhealthy’ foods more often.Conclusion: The results suggest possible dietary explanations for previous reports linking television watching to obesity and hypercholesterolaemia. In addition, they suggest that a high level of television watching might be a useful screening indicator of an unhealthy diet.
Two sets of television advertisements were video-recorded from weekend children's television in London and New York and were coded by two white women in terms of their gender-role portrayals. The advertised products covered by this analysis included snack and fast food, toys and breakfast cereal. Each advertisement was coded according to nine criteria including the ethnicity and gender of the people appearing, gender of central figure and of any voice over in the commercial, presence or absence of music, and other sales-related content. In general, males were more numerous than females in both American and British advertisements. There were more similarities than differences between the two national markets in terms of the nature of gender-role portrayals, with males generally occupying more central and authoritative positions. Only two analyses yielded significant differences. Girls outnumbered boys in American commercials, but the opposite was true of British commercials. Hispanic males were present in American commercials but not in British commercials.
Physical inactivity contributes to weight gain in adults, but whether this relationship is true for children of different ethnic groups is not well established.
To assess participation in vigorous activity and television watching habits and their relationship to body weight and fatness in US children.
Nationally representative cross-sectional survey with an in-person interview and medical examination. SETTING and
Between 1988 and 1994, 4063 children aged 8 through 16 years were examined as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks were oversampled to produce reliable estimates for these groups.
Episodes of weekly vigorous activity and daily hours of television watched, and their relationship to body mass index and body fatness.
Eighty percent of US children reported performing 3 or more bouts of vigorous activity each week. This rate was lower in non-Hispanic black and Mexican American girls (69% and 73%, respectively). Twenty percent of US children participated in 2 or fewer bouts of vigorous activity perweek, and the rate was higher in girls (26%) than in boys (17%). Overall, 26% of US children watched 4 or more hours of television per day and 67% watched at least 2 hours per day. Non-Hispanic black children had the highest rates of watching 4 or more hours of television per day (42%). Boys and girls who watch 4 or more hours of television each day had greater body fat (P<.001) and had a greater body mass index (P<.001) than those who watched less than 2 hours per day.
Many US children watch a great deal of television and are inadequately vigorously active. Vigorous activity levels are lowest among girls, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexican Americans. Intervention strategies to promote lifelong physical activity among US children are needed to stem the adverse health consequences of inactivity.
The nature and significance of food advertising during children's television was examined in two studies: a content analysis of advertising (Study 1) and an investigation of the impact of food adverts on the self-perception of overweight children (Study 2).
Study 1 monitored 91 h of children's broadcasting on four terrestrial and satellite stations in the UK. In Study 2, 103 children aged 9.75 y viewed two videotaped cartoons containing either food or non-food product advertisements.
Study 1 used a detailed record of advertisement style and content. Study 2 included a self-report measure of current state, and measures of self-esteem, dietary restraint, body weight and height.
Half of the 828 adverts were for food products, 60% of which were for breakfast cereals and confectionery/ snacks. Food advertisements used significantly more animation, stories, humour and the promotion of fun/happiness/mood alteration. In Study 2, significant interactions between advertisement type and overweight were observed on ratings of perceived health and appetite for sweets.
While small changes are apparent, advertisements during children's television are still dominated by those for foods of questionable nutritional value, in a manner designed to engage attention and emotional response. That overweight children appeared more influenced by their personal enhancement message, suggests the value of further work identifying who is most influenced and by what features of advertising.
This study investigated food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters during normal life, in a laboratory setting, and in the period after taking part in the laboratory experiment. Restraint was assessed with the Restrained Eating Scale of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. The data indicated that as predicted, restraint was associated with a lower food intake during everyday life, but with a higher intake in a laboratory taste test. A milk shake preload did not have a significant effect upon food intake in the laboratory. It had been predicted that participating in the laboratory experiment would disrupt the food intake of restrained eaters over the rest of that day and would engender overeating or even binges, but neither restrained nor unrestrained eaters reported any increase in food intake after the experiment. However neither group showed any reduction in food intake to compensate for what they had eaten in the laboratory. The results therefore indicated that disinhibition of restraint in the laboratory does not necessarily provoke the extended loss of control predicted by some theories of restrained eating, but may nevertheless threaten adherence to dieting intentions.
Reference curves for stature and weight in British children have been available for the past 30 years, and have recently been updated. However weight by itself is a poor indicator of fatness or obesity, and there has never been a corresponding set of reference curves to assess weight for height. Body mass index (BMI) or weight/height has been popular for assessing obesity in adults for many years, but its use in children has developed only recently. Here centile curves for BMI in British children are presented, from birth to 23 years, based on the same large representative sample as used to update the stature and weight references. The charts were derived using Cole's LMS method, which adjusts the BMI distribution for skewness and allows BMI in individual subjects to be expressed as an exact centile or SD score. Use of the charts in clinical practice is aided by the provision of nine centiles, where the two extremes identify the fattest and thinnest four per 1000 of the population.
Are there differences in eating behaviour between obese and non-obese children? Using the parent version of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ-parent version), the results of the present study suggest an affirmative answer to this question. The scores for obese children were significantly higher on the scales for emotional, external and restrained eating behaviour. Relationships were found between emotional eating and negative feelings of physical competence; between external eating and negative feelings of self-worth; and between both eating styles and various aspects of problem behaviour. No relationship was found between external eating and locus of control. Higher scores on both scales were associated with greater caloric intake. These findings suggest that DEBQ can be used as a screening instrument for assessing eating styles of obese children.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether television viewing (TVV) provides a context for patterns of snacking fostering overweight in young girls from overweight and non-overweight families.
Participants were 173 non-Hispanic white girls and their parents from central Pennsylvania, assessed longitudinally when girls were 5, 7, and 9 years old. Path analysis was used to test patterns of relationships among girls' TVV, snacking while watching television, snacking frequency, fat intake from energy-dense snack food, and girls' increase in body mass index (BMI) from age 5 to 9.
In both overweight and non-overweight families, girls who watched more television consumed more snacks in front of the television. In families where neither parent was overweight, television viewing was the only significant predictor of girls' increase in BMI. In families where one or both parents were overweight, girls who watched more television snacked more frequently, and girls who snacked more frequently had higher intakes of fat from energy-dense snacks, which predicted their increase in BMI from age 5 to 9. TVV did not directly predict girls' increase in BMI in girls from overweight families.
The results of this study support and extend previous findings that have shown that excessive television viewing and snacking patterns are risk factors for the development of overweight in children; however, patterns of relationships may differ based on parental weight status. For overweight families, TVV may provide a context for excessive snack consumption, in addition to inactivity.
Current public health campaigns to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes have largely focused on increasing exercise, but have paid little attention to the reduction of sedentary behaviors.
To examine the relationship between various sedentary behaviors, especially prolonged television (TV) watching, and risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes in women.
Prospective cohort study conducted from 1992 to 1998 among women from 11 states in the Nurses' Health Study. The obesity analysis included 50 277 women who had a body mass index (BMI) of less than 30 and were free from diagnosed cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or cancer and completed questions on physical activity and sedentary behaviors at baseline. The diabetes analysis included 68 497 women who at baseline were free from diagnosed diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.
Onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
During 6 years of follow-up, 3757 (7.5%) of 50 277 women who had a BMI of less than 30 in 1992 became obese (BMI > or =30). Overall, we documented 1515 new cases of type 2 diabetes. Time spent watching TV was positively associated with risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. In the multivariate analyses adjusting for age, smoking, exercise levels, dietary factors, and other covariates, each 2-h/d increment in TV watching was associated with a 23% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17%-30%) increase in obesity and a 14% (95% CI, 5%-23%) increase in risk of diabetes; each 2-h/d increment in sitting at work was associated with a 5% (95% CI, 0%-10%) increase in obesity and a 7% (95% CI, 0%-16%) increase in diabetes. In contrast, standing or walking around at home (2 h/d) was associated with a 9% (95% CI, 6%-12%) reduction in obesity and a 12% (95% CI, 7%-16%) reduction in diabetes. Each 1 hour per day of brisk walking was associated with a 24% (95% CI, 19%-29%) reduction in obesity and a 34% (95% CI, 27%-41%) reduction in diabetes. We estimated that in our cohort, 30% (95% CI, 24%-36%) of new cases of obesity and 43% (95% CI, 32%-52%) of new cases of diabetes could be prevented by adopting a relatively active lifestyle (<10 h/wk of TV watching and > or =30 min/d of brisk walking).
Independent of exercise levels, sedentary behaviors, especially TV watching, were associated with significantly elevated risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, whereas even light to moderate activity was associated with substantially lower risk. This study emphasizes the importance of reducing prolonged TV watching and other sedentary behaviors for preventing obesity and diabetes.
Emotions, obesity and crime
- S T Schacter
- J E R Frijters
- G P A Bergers
- P B Defares
Schacter, S. (1971). Emotions, obesity and crime. New York: Academic Press. Van Strien, T., Frijters, J. E. R., Bergers, G. P. A., & Defares, P. B. (1986).
Relationship of physical activity and television watching with body weight and level of fatness among children
- Anderson