The exposure to television advertising of unhealthy food among children and adolescents and its impact in Beijing
10.16835/j.cnki.1000-9817.2023.07.004
- VernacularTitle:北京市儿童青少年不健康食品电视营销暴露程度及其影响
- Author:
XIANG Lin, TANG Yuxiang, LEI Nan, YE Lihong, CUI Jia, LIANG Kaipeng, ZHANG Juan
1
Author Information
1. School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing (100730) , China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Marketing;
Food;
Advertisements;
Child;
Adolescent
- From:
Chinese Journal of School Health
2023;44(7):974-978
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To examine the exposure to television advertising of unhealthy food among children and adolescents in Beijing, in order to provide a basis for the formulation of marketing management policies with unhealthy food.
Methods:Four weekdays and four weekend days were randomly selected during October 19, 2020 to January 17, 2021, excluding holidays and school holidays. The top five popular channels of children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years old were selected. A total of 720 hours was included for coding and analysis. World Health Organization Nutrient Profile Model for the Western Pacific Region was used to classify food and assess the health level.
Results:A total of 13 864 advertisings (ads) was monitored, 38.8% (5 376) of which were food ads. Furthermore, 49.9% (2 680) of food ads were unhealthy food ads, with a frequency of 2.00 per hour per channel. The top five most frequent food ads were infant formula for 12-36 months (26.7%), cheese (16.7%), savory snacks (12.2%), milk drinks (10.5%) and chocolate and candy (6.0%). The most frequently used marketing strategies for unhealthy food ads were brand benefit claims (96.8%) and promotional characters (67.9%).
Conclusion:Children and adolescents in Beijing are highly exposed to TV marketing of unhealthy foods. Marketing strategies such as brand benefit claims and promotional characters are employed to boost the impact of unhealthy food ads. There is an urgent need to introduce relevant policies to regulate TV marketing of unhealthy foods.
