Significant amount of unhealthy children’s foods marketed to parents

1. Nearly half of all television-advertised children’s food, beverage products, and total television airtime for all products were directed at parents rather than at children.

2. Parent-directed advertisements were more likely to convey a message of nutrition, health, and active lifestyle than advertisements which were aimed toward children.

Study Rundown: Unhealthy foods and beverages are continually marketed to children through television advertisements with the average child watching 13 messages per day. Food manufacturers are facing increasing pressure to curb unhealthy advertisements which potentially may lead to increased commercials targeting parents. Researchers sought to examine the extent to which children’s foods and beverages are marketed to parents. It was found that almost half of advertised products and overall airtime were directed to parents. These ads were most likely to focus on messages of nutrition and living an active lifestyle. Cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages, and children’s yogurts accounted for the majority of advertised products. Study findings may be limited as foods marketed to adolescents and restaurant data were not included, some products may have been missed due to sampling error, and internet/social media advertisements were excluded. However, results should encourage providers to caution parents to read all food labels and to make healthy food choices for their children.

Click to read the study, published today in Pediatrics

Relevant Reading: Food marketing expenditures aimed at youth: putting the numbers in context

In-Depth [cross-sectional study]: A total of 342 individual advertisements for 51 different children’s foods and beverages which aired on United States television networks between March 2012 and February 2013 were included for analysis. Researchers identified the target audience for all commercials as being directed to either children or parents. Parent-directed ads were defined as advertisements containing images of parental figures and children bonding by enjoying activities together and emotionally appealing phrases to parents (“shows how much you care”). A total of 92 of the ads for 25 products were directed at parents (49%). Airtime for these products accounted for 42.4% (1290.4 hours) of all included products. These advertisements were more likely to feature a parent and child, show the item being consumed, a nutritional message/parent reading item’s packaging, an active lifestyle, and themes of nutrition and convenience. Ready-to-eat cereal (24.4% of airtime directed at parents), sugar-sweetened beverages (72.8%), and children’s yogurt (25.8%) were the most frequently advertised products.

Image: CC/Wiki/Tiia Monto

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