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Comparative Study
. 2019 Nov;20 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):116-128.
doi: 10.1111/obr.12840. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Global benchmarking of children's exposure to television advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages across 22 countries

Bridget Kelly  1 , Stefanie Vandevijvere  2 , SeeHoe Ng  3 , Jean Adams  4 , Lorena Allemandi  5 , Liliana Bahena-Espina  6 , Simon Barquera  6 , Emma Boyland  7 , Paul Calleja  8 , Isabel Cristina Carmona-Garcés  9 , Luciana Castronuovo  5 , Daniel Cauchi  10 , Teresa Correa  11 , Camila Corvalán  12 , Emma Lucia Cosenza-Quintana  13 , Carlos Fernández-Escobar  14 , Laura I González-Zapata  15 , Jason Halford  7 , Nongnuch Jaichuen  16 , Melissa L Jensen  17 , Tilakavati Karupaiah  3   18 , Asha Kaur  19 , María F Kroker-Lobos  13 , Zandile Mchiza  20 , Krista Miklavec  21 , Whadi-Ah Parker  22 , Monique Potvin Kent  23 , Igor Pravst  21 , Manuel Ramírez-Zea  13 , Sascha Reiff  24 , Marcela Reyes  12 , Miguel Ángel Royo-Bordonada  14 , Putthipanya Rueangsom  16 , Peter Scarborough  25 , Maria Victoria Tiscornia  5 , Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo  6 , Jillian Wate  26 , Martin White  4 , Irina Zamora-Corrales  13   27 , Lingxia Zeng  28 , Boyd Swinburn  2
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Comparative Study

Global benchmarking of children's exposure to television advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages across 22 countries

Bridget Kelly et al. Obes Rev. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Restricting children's exposures to marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages is a global obesity prevention priority. Monitoring marketing exposures supports informed policymaking. This study presents a global overview of children's television advertising exposure to healthy and unhealthy products. Twenty-two countries contributed data, captured between 2008 and 2017. Advertisements were coded for the nature of foods and beverages, using the 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Nutrient Profile Model (should be permitted/not-permitted to be advertised). Peak viewing times were defined as the top five hour timeslots for children. On average, there were four times more advertisements for foods/beverages that should not be permitted than for permitted foods/beverages. The frequency of food/beverages advertisements that should not be permitted per hour was higher during peak viewing times compared with other times (P < 0.001). During peak viewing times, food and beverage advertisements that should not be permitted were higher in countries with industry self-regulatory programmes for responsible advertising compared with countries with no policies. Globally, children are exposed to a large volume of television advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages, despite the implementation of food industry programmes. Governments should enact regulation to protect children from television advertising of unhealthy products that undermine their health.

Keywords: INFORMAS; advertising; food; television.

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