Delayed childhood obesity strategy fails to address ‘junk food’ advertising to children

Abstract Objective: To describe US adults’ levels of support, neutrality, and opposition to restricting junk food advertising to children on social media and explore associations with sociodemographic and health-related characteristics. Design: In 2020-2021, we used cross-sectional data from the National Cancer Institute’s 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey to estimate the prevalence of opinions toward advertising restrictions, and correlates of neutrality and opposition using weighted multivariable logistic regression. Setting: United States. Participants: Adults aged 18+ years. Results: Among the analytic sample (n=2852), 54% of adults were neutral or opposed to junk food advertising restrictions on social media. The odds of being neutral or opposed were higher among Non-Hispanic Black adults (vs non-Hispanic White; OR: 2.03 (95% CI: 1.26, 3.26)); those completing some college (OR: 1.68 (95% CI: 1.20, 2.34)) or high school or less (OR: 2.62 (95% CI: 1.74, 3.96)) (vs those with a college degree); those who were overweight (vs normal weight; OR: 1.42 (95% CI: 1.05, 1.93)); and those reporting a moderate (OR: 1.45 (95% CI: 1.13, 1.88)) or conservative (OR: 1.71 (95% CI: 1.24, 2.35)) political viewpoint (vs liberal). Having strong (vs weaker) weight and diet-related cancer beliefs was associated with 53% lower odds of being neutral or opposed to advertising restrictions (OR: 0.47 (95% CI: 0.36, 0.61)). Conclusions: This study identified subgroups of US adults for whom targeted communication strategies may increase support for policies to improve children’s food environment.

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Virtual Junk Food Playgrounds in Europe: Advergames in the UK and Hungary

Journal of Virtual Worlds Research ◽

10.4101/jvwr.v3i2.1893 ◽

1970 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Arhlene A. Flowers ◽

Katalin Lustyik ◽

Emese Gulyás

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

Online Advertising ◽

Food Advertising ◽

The Internet ◽

Communist Country ◽

Junk Food ◽

Obesity Epidemic ◽

Number Of Children ◽

The Media ◽

The Uk

Unhealthy foods and drinks are among the top products advertised to young children. Considering the growing childhood obesity epidemic and the soaring number of children accessing the Internet, even online junk food advertising has come under increasing scrutiny. Many countries are in the process of expanding and revising existing regulation to account for the realities of the digital age and to respond to health and other social concerns. This paper focuses on two European countries in particular to examine and compare these processes through the lens of junk food advergames aimed at children. Our questions are: 1) Given the differences in the media landscapes of the UK and Hungary, what types of junk food advergames target children?; and 2) In light of the growing childhood obesity problem faced by both nations, how have government bodies, advocacy groups, and advertisers approached junk food advertising targeting children in general and online advertising including advergames in particular? The United Kingdom represents a country with the highest Internet usage by children and the most developed online advertising market in Europe, while Hungary, a post-communist country, represents an emerging media market where young people have less access to the Internet and buying power but constitute a crucial “entry point” for food advertisers.

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Online Games as Powerful Food Advertising to Children

Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-808-6.ch021 ◽

2009 ◽

pp. 358-369

Author(s):

Richard T. Cole ◽

Elizabeth Taylor Quilliam

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Childhood Obesity ◽

Online Games ◽

The United States ◽

Food Advertising ◽

Policy Issues ◽

Teaching Tools ◽

Dietary Choices ◽

Continued Use ◽

Advertising To Children

As Internet marketing has evolved, customized online games created to promote specific brands or products have been embraced by food marketers. At the same time that these advergames, a hybrid of entertainment and advertising, have emerged, childhood obesity in the United States has reached what some consider epidemic proportions. Advertising to children is frequently implicated as contributing to children’s poor dietary choices, and ultimately to childhood obesity and its attendant medical risks. In this chapter, we describe the nature of advergames, consider their effectiveness as teaching tools and advertisements, and suggest public policy issues related to the continued use of advergames to promote non-nutritious foods to children.

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A Children’s Rights Perspective on Food Advertising to Children

The International Journal of Children s Rights ◽

10.1163/15718182-55680024 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 93-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Elizabeth Handsley ◽

Christopher Nehmy ◽

Kaye Mehta ◽

John Coveney

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

United Nations ◽

The State ◽

Food Advertising ◽

Economic Exploitation ◽

Advertising Regulation ◽

Rights Of The Child ◽

Strict Regulation ◽

United Nations Convention ◽

Advertising To Children

This article applies the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to the regulation of food advertising for the prevention of childhood obesity, evaluating the advertising regulation in six jurisdictions against the principles of the Convention. It finds that the Convention would support strict regulation of food advertising for the prevention of childhood obesity; and in particular that such regulation would be appropriate to the model of co-operation between the state and parents that the Convention posits. The article also raises the question whether the grooming of children as consumers through advertising might be a form of economic exploitation.

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