According to a new study released today (29 March) by the Kaiser Family Foundation, half of all adverts aired in the US during children’s programming promote food products – 34% of these are for candy and snack foods while 10% are for fast foods. Of all the ads reviewed in the study, none promoted the consumption of fruits or vegetables.
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The study, Food for Thought: Television Food Advertising to Children in the United States, analyses the content of TV ads and details about children’s viewing habits with the aim of providing a guide to the number and type of television advertising viewed by kids.
The Kaiser Foundation has released its findings with the aim of contributing to the debate surrounding rising levels of childhood obesity.
The most ads are viewed by the 8-12 year old age group, who view an average of 21 food related commercials each day, the researchers found. Teenagers watch an average of 17 adverts a day, while children ages 2-7 years see the least number of food ads, at 12 food ads a day. For each age group, food was the top product seen advertised.
“Children of all ages see thousands of food ads a year, but tweens see more than any other age group,” said Vicky Rideout, vice president and director of the Program for the Study of Entertainment Media and Health at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Since tweens are at an age where they’re just becoming independent consumers, understanding what type of advertising they are exposed to is especially important.”
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By GlobalDataOne in five (20%) food ads targeting children or teens include a push to a website, and a similar proportion (19%) include the offer of a premium, such as a game or toy. About one in ten (11%) have a tie-in to a children’s TV or movie character.
Responding to the report’s findings, industry body the Grocery Manufacturers/Food Products Association (GMA/FPA) said that it welcomed the group’s efforts to promote healthy lifestyles.
However,that the report was completed in 2005, it is only a snapshot that does not fully capture all of the industry efforts in this area since that time,” she said.
Highlighting the efforts undertaken by the food industry to encourage healthy eating habits, Sophos said: “Over the last five years alone, food companies have introduced over 10,000 new and reformulated products with more whole grains and fibre, reduced calories, reduced saturated fat, zero trans fat, lower sodium and sugar. During this same period, many food companies have also introduced 100-calorie package and similar forms of portion controlled offerings and are investing millions of dollars in initiatives that educate consumers on the importance of a healthy diet and increased physical activity.”
