June 2010
ADVERTISING TO CHILDREN
Many commercials try to persuade us to buy food. Some suggest that a certain food will make us feel good or that acting a certain way gets a food reward. What are advertisers selling and what effect does it have on children?
Advertisers use media to get their message out to the public. TV is the main way to reach young children, especially children 2-11 years of age. Children see three times more commercials today than in the 1970s. At least half of those commercials are for food shown during children's programs. Young children watch about 21 food commercials a day. This does not include print, radio, internet, video games or other media!
Children are an important target group for marketers. Children have purchasing power, now because they influence parents' buying decisions, and as a future adult. Marketers easily persuade children, who do not yet have a sense of want versus need, with music, toys and contests. Food commercial claims are not technically false but can confuse children and parents about what makes a food healthy.
Most foods marketed to children are high in fat, sugar and salt, and low in fibre and other healthy nutrients. About 80% of foods intended for children are fast foods, sweets, and cereal. Breakfast cereals aimed at children have 85% more sugar and 65% less fibre than cereal products aimed at adults. A regular diet of television, which advertises less healthy foods, may increase children's risk of obesity.
Commercials link food with fun, play, being popular, sports, and happiness with little mention of actual product content. Messages often imply that a food can lift your mood or tastes so good you cannot live without it. Children see people that trick, fight and lie to obtain food. What can you do to be a savvy consumer and teach children to be savvy now and in the future?
- Talk about the purpose of advertising.
- Ask why a product is a "must-have".
- Encourage children to challenge advertisers' claims.
- Watch commercial free TV or better yet, limit TV time.
- Be a role model for eating habits and behaviour.
- Don't feel guilty for not buying the commercials' foods.
Even though TV may influence what a child wants, parents are still the most important factor for setting the family diet. Parents have control whether the item purchased is the healthy choice. Look at the Nutrition Facts table to compare nutrients and select the best option. For example, a serving of breakfast cereal should have:
- Total fat - 10 g or less
- Trans fat - 0 g
- Sodium - 480 mg or less
- Fibre - 2 g is okay, 4 g is better, 6 or more is excellent
- Sugars - 12 g or less
Healthy Foods for My School (www.health.gov.sk.ca/healthy-foods-for-my-school) is a valuable tool for using food labels to select healthful packaged foods.
WRITTEN BY THE PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITIONISTS OF SASKATCHEWAN
Originator: Jadwiga Dolega-Cieszkowski, Heartland Health Region
Reviewer: Jenny Okroj, Regina Qu'Appelle Health region
References:
Baute, Nicole, The 10 Least Nutritious Breakfast Cereals, www.parentcentral.ca/, 2009.
Centre for Science in the Public Interest, CSPI, "Food Marketing to Children", Nutrition Action Healthletter.
Harrison, Kristen & Marske, Amy, "Nutritional Content of Foods Advertised During the Television Programs Children Watch Most", American Journal of Public Health, 95(9): 1568-1574, 2005.
Institute of Medicine, "Food Marketing to Children and Youth. Threat or Opportunity?" in Influence of Marketing on the Diets and Diet-Related Health of Children and Youth. Washington DC: National Academies Press, pp. 226-318, 2006.
Media Awareness Network, www.media-awareness.ca.
Page, Randy & Brewster, Aaron, "Depiction of food as Having Drug-Like Rroperties in Televised Food Advertisements Directed at Children: Portrayal as Pleasure Enhancing and Addictive", Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 23(3): 150-57, 2009.
Saskatchewan Ministry of Health, Healthy Foods for My School, 2009.
