The more fun, the more dangerous: The nutritional quality of foods with child-directed marketing

Abstract

In this study, we applied four distinct nutritional classification schemes (NCSs) to evaluate the nutritional quality of foods and beverages that use child-directed marketing strategies in labels, and examined the agreement between different NCSs. Data were collected before the implementation of the front-of-package labeling (FOPL) legislation in Brazil. Food labeling information was collected from among the 8,942 products in different Brazilian supermarkets between February 2021 and September 2023. More than 10 % of products (n = 959) used one or more child-directed marketing options on their labels. Over half (54.5 %) of the analyzed products fell into the group with the highest sugar and fat contents. Products with two or more marketing strategies targeting children had higher energy, carbohydrate, and sugar contents. On the other hand, micronutrient levels were generally low, with some exceptions. Almost half of the sample included a declaration of vitamins and minerals. Two-thirds (67.47 %) of the products did not have nutritional claims. The Nutrition Profiling Model (NPM) from Brazil has proved to be the least stringent classification system. Agreement between the different NCSs was low for some groups. The use of sweeteners was infrequent; however, dyes were present in almost half of the products (mainly G7). Red and blue dyes were the most common, with artificial dyes predominating. The increased use of marketing strategies was associated with poor nutritional quality in studied foods. These findings highlight the urgency for stricter regulations in Brazil, particularly those prohibiting child-directed marketing strategies in unhealthy food products.