The impact of media and advertising of food on the eating behaviour of adolescent girls in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

This study aims to detect differences in eating behaviours demonstrated by adolescent girls in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, according to the influence of the media through TV advertisements. A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 1519 girls from 20 schools in Jeddah. Survey questions included information regarding media advertising and its effect on eating behaviour. Bivariate analyses were performed to define differences in eating behaviour according to media influence and Chi-square analyses to detect significant relationships. The results indicated a significant correlation between dessert consumption and advertising exposure (P = 0.035). Adolescent girls exposed to such advertising were more likely to consume dessert [n=299 (48.5%)], to shop for food [n=316 (50.7%)], and had attempted to lose weight [n=373 (59.5%)]. The results emphasize the role and obligation of decision-makers to protect young consumers through increased legislation and control of media content (particularly food advertisements) targeting young people.