Abstract
In recent years, the food and beverage industry in the US has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. As a result, children and adolescents are now the target of intense and specialized food marketing and advertising efforts. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behavior. These food marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. Foods marketed to children are predominantly high in sugar and fat, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations. The purpose of this article is to examine the food advertising and marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in the US, the impact of food advertising on eating behavior, and current regulation and policies.
Highlights
Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is essential for growth and development, health and well-being. [1,2] Further, eating behaviors established during childhood track into adulthood and contribute to long-term health and chronic disease risk. [3,4] Numerous studies have consistently documented that dietary intake patterns of American children and adolescents are poor and do not meet national dietary goals. [5,6,7,8] In addition, US food consumption trend data show a shift over the past few decades
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2004, 1 http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/1/1/3 aggressive forms of food marketing and advertising practices through a range of channels. [17,18,19,20,21,22] Marketers are interested in children and adolescents as consumers because they spend billions of their own dollars annually, influence how billions more are spent through household food purchases, and are future adult consumers. [18,23] It is estimated that US adolescents spend $140 billion a year
The strong similarities between the marketing and promotional activities used by food companies to advertise unhealthy foods to children and those used by the tobacco industry to market cigarettes to children are striking
Summary
Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is essential for growth and development, health and well-being. [1,2] Further, eating behaviors established during childhood track into adulthood and contribute to long-term health and chronic disease risk. [3,4] Numerous studies have consistently documented that dietary intake patterns of American children and adolescents are poor and do not meet national dietary goals. [5,6,7,8] In addition, US food consumption trend data show a shift over the past few decades. [56,58] This electronic advertising "environment" and on-line infomercials is evident with food companies, which offer multiple entertaining, animated and interactive areas developed for preschoolers and children around their food products These sites include games, word-find puzzles, contests, quizzes, riddles, music, email cards, clips of commercials, sweepstakes, downloadable recipes, desktop wallpaper and screensavers that feature their products, and on-line stores that sell licensed merchandise. [76] In 1974, the FCC required specific limitations on the overall amount of advertising allowed during children's programs (12 minutes/hour on weekdays and 9.5 minutes/hour on weekends) and clear separation between program content and commercial messages This involved policies against "host selling," the use of a program host or other program personality to promote products on the program. Australia does not allow ads during television programming for preschoolers. [40] Data are needed regarding whether more stringent regulation of television food advertising to children results in more healthful food choices and eating behaviors
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