Artículo
Food and beverage advertising on children's TV channels in Argentina: Frequency, duration, and nutritional quality
Registro en:
10.5546/aap.2017.eng.28
Autor
Rovirosa, Alicia
Zapata, María E
Gómez, Paula
Gotthelf, Susana J.
Ferrante, Daniel
Resumen
Fil: Rovirosa, Alicia. Centro de Estudios sobre Nutrición Infantil; Argentina. Fil: Zapata, María E. Universidad de Centro Educativo Latinoamericano. Facultad de Química; Argentina. Fil: Gómez, Paula. Universidad de Belgrano. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina. Fil: Gotthelf, Susana. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Nutricionales; Argentina. Fil: Ferrante, Daniel. Ministerio de Salud; Argentina. Food and beverage marketing has been identified as one of the determinants of unhealthy food and beverage consumption in the child population.
Objective: To determine the frequency and duration of food and beverage advertising in children's programming and the nutritional quality of advertised food and beverages.
Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Children's cable and broadcast channel programming was recorded in two periods: over the week and on the weekend. The type, quantity, and duration of commercials were recorded. The nutritional quality of advertised food and beverages was analyzed.
Results: A total of 402.3 hours of children's programming were recorded. In total, 3711 commercials were identified. Among these, 20.9% corresponded to food and beverages, i.e., an average of 1.9 ± 1.0 commercials per hour or equivalent to 0.68 ± 0.36 min/hour. Dairy products, candies, and fast-food meals were the most advertised food products. Only a third of advertised food and beverages (35.8%) were categorized as healthy as per the nutrient profiling system. Based on the traffic light labeling system, 50% of advertised food and beverages were high in sugar, 25% were high in saturated fat, and approximately 15% were high in sodium or fat.
Conclusion: Food and beverage advertising accounted for 20% of television advertising time. The most advertised products were dairy products, followed by candies and sweet snacks, fast-food meals, and beverages. Two-thirds of advertised food and beverages were considered unhealthy.