Abstract
Unhealthy food advertising can negatively impact children's food preferences and nutritional health. In Canada, only companies participating in the self-regulatory Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CAI) commit to limiting unhealthy food advertising to children. We analyzed food advertising from 182 Canadian television stations in 2018. A principal component analysis explored patterns of advertising by 497 food companies and their targeting of preschoolers, children, adolescents, and adults. Chi-square analyses tested differences in the volume of advertising between target age groups by heavily advertising food companies and by CAI-participating and non-participating companies. In 2018, Maple Leaf Foods, Boulangerie St-Méthode, Exceldor Foods, Goodfood Market and Sobeys advertised most frequently during preschooler-programming. General Mills, Kellogg's, the Topps Company, Parmalat and Post Foods advertised most frequently during child-programming, while Burger King, McDonald's, General Mills, Kellogg's and Wendy's advertised most frequently during adolescent-programming. CAI-participating companies were responsible for over half of the food advertising broadcast during programs targeted to children (55%), while they accounted for less than half of the food advertising aired during programs targeting preschoolers (24%), adolescents (41%) and adults (42%). Statutory food advertising restrictions are needed to limit food companies' targeting of young people on television in Canada. Novelty: Advertising from fast food restaurant chains dominated television programming targeted to adolescents in 2018. Advertising from breakfast cereal, candy, and snack manufacturers dominated television programming targeted at children in 2018. Over 100 Canadian and transnational companies contravened broadcast restrictions on advertising to preschoolers in 2018.
Highlights
Childhood is a critical period for developing the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing (Gluckman et al 2015; Irwin et al 2007)
Principal component 2 (PC2) reflected advertising to preschoolers compared with adolescents and explained an additional 19.1% of the variability
Principal component 3 (PC3) reflected the advertising to preschoolers, adolescents and adults compared with children, and contributed 13.1% of the overall variation
Summary
Childhood is a critical period for developing the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing (Gluckman et al 2015; Irwin et al 2007). The current nutritional environment has been described as obesogenic as children are bombarded by marketing for unhealthy foods and beverages that are high in sugar, fat, and salt (Reisch et al 2013; Smith et al 2019). Multiple systematic reviews have illustrated the influential role of food marketing on children’s food preferences, purchases, requests, consumption and risk of obesity (Andreyeva et al 2011; Boyland et al 2015; Cairns et al 2013; Dalton et al 2017; Longacre et al 2017; McGinnis et al 2006; Norman et al 2016; Sadeghirad et al 2016; Smith et al 2019). The health impacts of food marketing and the far-reaching health effects of unhealthy diets has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO 2010) to endorse a set of recommendations to reduce the marketing of foods high in saturated fats, trans fats, free sugars, or sodium to children. The WHO has urged governments around the world to adopt these recommendations at a national level (WHO 2010)
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