Do you think kids are born craving McDonald's and Burger King?
Of course not. Children are socialized into believing that junk-foods are to be preferred over other foods in large part because of fast-food marketing.
Last week, an article published in
PLos entitled,
How Television Fast Food Marketing Aimed at Children Compares with Adult Advertisements.
Here is a great excerpt from the study:
In 2006, U.S. QSR chains reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
that they spent $161 million marketing to 2–11 year olds (56% on
television advertising). Of the money QSR chains spent, $74.4 million
(46%) went to cross-promotions to tie their meals to movies, television
shows, and animated characters. [9] An additional estimated $360 million was spent on the toy premiums themselves. [10] Exposure to food advertisements has been shown to alter eating choices and behaviors, [11] and associating food with animated characters enhances a child’s perceived food taste and preference. [9], [12] Obese children may be highly susceptible to food advertising. [13], [14] Fast food advertising exposure is associated with higher fast food consumption in children, [15] and fast food branding has been shown to influence taste preferences [16].
Here are some other interesting facts, pulled from
Fooduate blog's recap:
- 99% of fast food commercials aired during the study period were for McDonald’s and Burger King
- 4 out of 5 commercials aired on 4 primary channels – Cartoon Network, Disney, Nickelodeon, and Nicktoons.
- Toy giveaways were shown in 69% of the kid commercials vs. virtually none in adult commercials.
- Movie tie-ins accounted for over half the children’s commercials vs just 14% for adult commercials.
So, you may be wondering - who governs marketing to children? Technically, the
FTC would be the agency to regulate marketing and while it has published guidelines, they're
voluntary. In other words, they don't have any actual legal authority to regulate food
advertising based on nutrition. The food industry has said over and over that it can and will self-regulate. But how effective or ethical can self-regulation be?
There is some good news though. When it comes to schools, a recent CDC study showed that school districts are banning junk foods and taking less donations from soda companies. This is, in large part, due to the fact that
Smart Snacks In School are requiring schools to ditch the junk.
Here are the details:
- 44 percent of school districts banned junk
food from vending machines last year, up from 30 percent in 2006.
- The proportion of school districts that allowed soda companies to
advertise soft drinks on school grounds — through posters, scoreboard
placards or other ways — dropped from 47 percent to about 34 percent.
- Of
districts that allowed schools to sell soft drinks, the percentage that
received a portion of sales receipts fell from 82 percent in 2006 to 69
percent in 2012.
- Of districts that allowed soda sales, the
amount that received cash awards, equipment donations or other
incentives from soda companies fell from 52 percent to 34 percent.
Report: http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/shpps/index.htm
What do you think? Is it enough that schools are ditching the junk and junk-food bribes? Or is the prevalence of fast-food marketing to kids via TV and online mediums still too much to outweigh?
© Annabel Adams, Smart Snacks In School, 2013. Unauthorized use
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