ANSWERS FOR FOOD ADVERTISING ON CHILDREN

Food advertising on children

This nhận xét was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency to lớn examine the current research evidence on:

• the extent và nature of food promotion khổng lồ children

the effect, if any, that this promotion has on their food knowledge, preferences và behaviour.

Bạn đang xem: Answers for food advertising on children

A

Children’s food promotion is dominated by television advertising, và the great majority of this promotes the so-called ‘Big Four’ of pre-sugared breakfast cereals, soft drinks, confectionery & savoury snacks. In the last ten years advertising for fast food, outlets have rapidly increased. There is some evidence that the dominance of television has recently begun to lớn wane. The importance of strong, global branding reinforces a need for multi-faceted communications combining television with merchandising, ‘tie-ins’ & point of sale activity. The advertised diet contrasts sharply with that recommended by public health advisors, và themes of fun và fantasy or taste, rather than health and nutrition, are used to promote it to lớn children. Meanwhile, the recommended diet gets little promotional support.

B

There is plenty of evidence that children notice và enjoy food promotion. However, establishing whether this actually influences them is a complex problem. The review tackled it by looking at studies that had examined possible effects on what children know about food, their food preferences, their actual food behaviour (both buying & eating), và their health outcomes (eg. Obesity or cholesterol levels). The majority of studies examined food advertising, but a few examined other forms of food promotion. In terms of nutritional knowledge, food advertising seems to have little influence on children’s general perceptions of what constitutes a healthy diet, but, in certain contexts, it does have an effect on more specific types of nutritional knowledge. For example, seeing soft drink and cereal adverts reduced primary aged children’s ability to determine correctly whether or not certain products contained real fruit.

C

The đánh giá also found evidence that food promotion influences children’s food preferences and purchase behaviour. A study of primary school children, for instance, found that exposure to lớn advertising influenced which foods they claimed to lớn like; & another showed that labelling & signage on a vending machine had an effect on what was bought by secondary school pupils. A number of studies have also shown that food advertising can influence what children eat. One, for example, showed that advertising influenced a primary class’s choice of daily snack at playtime.

Xem thêm: Số Người Béo Phì Ở Việt Nam Tăng Nhanh Nhất Đông Nam Á

D

The next step, of trying to lớn establish whether or not a links exists between food promotion and diet or obesity, is extremely difficult as it requires research khổng lồ be done in real-world settings. A number of studies have attempted this by using the amount of television viewing as a proxy for exposure to lớn television advertising. They have established a clear liên kết between television viewing & diet, obesity, và cholesterol levels. It is impossible lớn say, however, whether this effect is caused by the advertising, the sedentary nature of television viewing or snacking that might take place whilst viewing. One study resolved this problem by taking a detailed diary of children’s viewing habits. This showed that the more food adverts they saw, the more snacks và calories they consumed.

E

Thus the literature does suggest food promotion is influencing children’s diet in a number of ways. This does not amount khổng lồ proof; as noted above with this kind of research, incontrovertible proof simply isn’t attainable. Nor bởi all studies point to lớn this conclusion; several have not found an effect. In addition, very few studies have attempted lớn measure how strong these effects are relative lớn other factors influencing children’s food choices. Nonetheless, many studies have found clear effects and they have used sophisticated methodologies that make it possible lớn determine that i) these effects are not just due lớn chance; ii) they are independent of other factors that influence diets, such as parents’ eating habits or attitudes; và iii) they occur at a brand và category level.

F

Furthermore, two factors suggest that these findings actually downplay the effect that food promotion has on children. First, the literature focuses principally on television advertising; the cumulative effect of this combined with other forms of promotion and kinh doanh is likely to be significantly greater. Second, the studies have looked at the direct effects of individual children, và understate indirect influences. For example, promotion for fast food outlets may not only influence the child but also encourage parents to take them for meals & reinforce the idea that this is normal và desirable behaviour.

Xem thêm: Lợi Ích Từ Đậu Nành Với Sức Khỏe Nam Giới, Sự Thật Là Gì

G

This does not amount to lớn proof of an effect, but in our view does provide sufficient evidence khổng lồ conclude that an effect exists. The debate should now shift khổng lồ what action is needed, and specifically to how the nguồn of commercial sale can be used to lớn bring about improvements in young people’s eating.