Question

Food companies have often been accused of targeting children with adverts for unhealthy products such as fast food, confectionery and snacks. Assess the extent of advertising of ‘unhealthy food’ to children based on this evidence is it more or less than other products? Are children targeted more than adults?

Answer 1

World Health Organization (2009)
The most recent of the reviews was undertaken in
2019 on behalf of the World Health Organization.
The authors comprehensively and systematically
reviewed the international evidence on the global
extent of food advertising to children, and its effects
on children.
The review concluded that children are exposed to
extensive food advertising, particularly on television,
and that it is having an effect on children. In
particular:
 There is modest but consistent evidence that food
advertising influences food preferences and
consumption.
 There is strong evidence that food advertising
influences children’s food purchasing and
purchase requests.
 There is evidence of small but significant
associations between television viewing, diet
quality, obesity and blood cholesterol levels.
The review also confirmed that food advertising
affects both total category sales and brand switching.
This refutes the common claim of the food and
advertising industries that advertising changes brand
preferences within product categories (i.e. persuades
consumers to buy one brand rather than another) but
does not increase overall consumption within a
product category.

OfCom (2006)

In 2006, a comprehensive review was undertaken to
inform Ofcom’s consultation on television advertising
of food and beverage products to children.
The conclusions of the review included the following:
 There is a growing consensus that advertising
works in its influence on children’s food
preferences, diet and health. Given that most
advertising to children is for products high in salt,
sugar and fat, this influence is harmful to
children’s health.
 The experimental evidence suggests that
television advertising has a modest direct effect
on children’s (aged 2-11) food preferences.
 Estimates of the effects of advertising/television
on children’s food choices vary, but some suggest
that such exposure accounts for some 2% of the
variation in food choice/obesity. Cumulatively, this
may make an appreciable difference to the
number of children who are obese, and this effect
may be larger than the measurable effect of
exercise and other factors.
‘Nearly all research published in the past few
years supports the hypothesis that food
promotion, especially television advertising,
contributes to the unhealthy food preferences,
poor diet and consequently, growing obesity
among children in Western societies’.
Institute of Medicine (2005)
In 2005, the Institute of Medicine of the National
Academies (IOM) conducted a systematic review of
the evidence on the influence of food marketing on
the diets and health of children and youth in the
United States, at the request of the United States
Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The findings of the review included:
 There is strong evidence that food advertising to
children affects their preferences, purchase
behaviours, and consumption habits (for different
food and beverage categories, as well as for
different brands);
 Food advertising on television influences children
to prefer and purchase high-calorie and low-
nutrient foods and beverages; and
 There is strong evidence that exposure to
television advertising is associated with adiposity
in children ages 2–11 years and teens aged 12–18 years.