Abstract
The progressive rise in Canadian child obesity has paralleled trends in unhealthy food consumption. Industry has contributed to these trends through aggressive food and beverage marketing in various media and child settings. This study aimed to assess the extent of food and beverage advertising on television in Canada and compare the frequency of food advertising broadcasted during programs targeted to preschoolers, children, adolescents and adults. Annual advertising from 2018 was drawn from publicly available television program logs. Food and beverage advertisement rates and frequencies were compared by, target age group, television station, month and food category, using linear regression modelling and chi-square tests, in SAS version 9.4. Rates of food and beverage advertising differed significantly between the four target age groups, and varied significantly by television station and time of the year, in 2018. The proportion of advertisements for food and beverage products was significantly greater during preschooler-, child-, and adult-programming [5432 (54%), 142,451 (74%) and 2,886,628 (48%), respectively; p < 0.0001] compared to adolescent-programming [27,268 (42%)]. The proportion of advertisements promoting fast food was significantly greater among adolescent-programming [33,475 (51%), p < 0.0001] compared to other age groups. Legislation restricting food and beverage advertising is needed in Canada as current self-regulatory practices are failing to protect young people from unhealthy food advertising and its potential negative health effects.
Highlights
Canadian child obesity has increased at an alarming rate, nearly tripling in the last three decades [1].As of 2012, 30% of Canadian children, aged 5–17, had excess weight or obesity [2]
Legislation restricting food and beverage advertising is needed in Canada as current self-regulatory practices are failing to protect young people from unhealthy food advertising and its potential negative health effects
The average annual rates of food advertising differed between the age groups at 0.6 food ads per hour of programming targeted to preschoolers; 1.5 food ads per hour of programming targeted to children; 3.3 food ads per hour of programming targeted to adolescents; and 4.1 food ads per hour of programming targeted to adults
Summary
Canadian child obesity has increased at an alarming rate, nearly tripling in the last three decades [1]. As of 2012, 30% of Canadian children, aged 5–17, had excess weight or obesity [2]. One major driver, increasing child and adolescent consumption and preference for foods high in sugar, sodium and saturated fats, is the food industry’s aggressive food and beverage marketing in various media and settings [6]. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines marketing as “any form of commercial communication or message that is designed to, or has the effect of, increasing the recognition, appeal, and/or consumption of particular products and services” and includes “anything that acts to advertise or otherwise promote a product or service” [7]. Thereby, refers to the activities designed to promote food and beverage products and services [8]
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