Study finds advertising leads children to poor food choices

Food & Drink Weekly, Dec 12, 2005

Following the most comprehensive review to date of the scientific evidence on the influence of food marketing on diets of children, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies last week released a report saying such advertising does lead children ages 12 and under to request and consume high-calorie, low-nutrient products. The report also recommends that schools, parents and the media work with government and industry to develop initiatives that support healthful diets for children. However, say the researchers, "If voluntary efforts by industry fail to successfully shift the emphasis of television advertising during children's programming away from high-calorie, low-nutrient products to healthier fare, Congress should enact legislation to mandate this change on both broadcast and cable television."

The study also calls for significant changes to reshape children's awareness of healthy dietary choices. For example, says the report, food manufacturers and restaurants should direct more of their resources to developing and marketing child- and youth-oriented foods, drinks and meals that are higher in nutrients and lower in calories, fat, salt and added sugars.

The study was requested by Congress and sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The IOM is a private, nonprofit institution that provides health policy advice under a congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences.

In preparing its report, the IOM research committee assessed hundreds of relevant studies and reviewed evidence from more than 120 of the best designed to determine what effects marketing may have on children's diets and health. Unfortunately, most of the studies focused only on television advertising, "a shortcoming that should be addressed in future research, given that marketing strategies are rapidly evolving and now employ many tactics beyond television advertising, including Internet marketing, mobile phone ads and product placements in video games and other media," says the report.

Not surprisingly, the committee found strong evidence that television advertising influences the food and beverage preferences and purchase requests of children ages two through 11 years old and affects their consumption habits, at least over the short term. However, the evidence on whether television advertising directly affects children's long-term dietary patterns is limited and less conclusive, the report notes. Researchers did not find enough evidence to determine the extent to which marketing influences the preferences and consumption habits of 12-to-18-year-olds because too few studies have focused on teens.

The study acknowledges that some food companies and restaurants have taken steps recently to develop and promote healthier offerings, "but overall the food, beverage, and restaurant industries spend the majority of their resources on products that contain high amounts of added sugar, fat, and salt and that lack essential nutrients," the report says. In fact, companies last year spent an estimated $10 billion to market foods, beverages and meals to U.S. children and youth. "These industries should shift their creativity and resources to develop a wider array of products that are nutritious, appealing and affordable," the committee recommends.

Among the report's other recommendations:

* Food, beverage and restaurant companies, as well as the entertainment and marketing industries, should expand, strengthen and enforce their standards for marketing practices. For example, licensed characters, such as popular cartoon characters, should be used to promote only products that support healthful diets.

* The industries should work with health officials and consumer groups to develop an industry-wide rating system and labeling that convey the nutritional quality of foods and beverages in a consistent and effective fashion.

* The media and entertainment industries should incorporate storylines that promote healthful eating into programs, films and games.

* The government should consider the use of awards and tax incentives that encourage companies to develop and promote healthier products for young people.

* Governments and schools should develop and apply nutritional standards for all foods and beverages sold in schools that compete with federally reimbursed meals, including products sold in school stores and vending machines or for fundraising.