Instruments for analysing the influence of advertising on children's food choices

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this report was to present methodological aspects of assessing the effects of advertising on children's food choices and preferences. Methods: Two instruments have been used: first, a choice experiment on children's food knowledge and preferences, and second, a questionnaire on children's knowledge about and attitudes towards advertising. The choice experiment employed 10 matched pairs of food items, each represented in two magazines, one that tested knowledge and the other food preferences. The children's questionnaire contained four dimensions that tested children's credibility and suspiciousness of, as well as entertainment by, advertising. Although based on already developed tools, both instruments were modified to suit the young target group and ensure cross-cultural comparability. The questionnaire was validated via Cronbach's alpha and factor analysis. Subjects: A total of 393 children aged 5-11 years from seven European countries participated in the study. Results: Both instruments proved to be valid and reliable to analyse the food knowledge and preferences of children, as well as knowledge about and attitudes towards advertising. While 92.2% of the children predominantly recognised the healthier food, only 33.2% also preferred the healthier food. The Cronbach's alpha values for the dimensions were 0.470 for credibility, 0.409 for suspiciousness and 0.295 for entertainment factor. The gathered data revealed that children are rather critical and suspicious of advertising and only moderately entertained. Conclusion: Both instruments are applicable for the 5-to 11-year-old age group in different European countries. Descriptive results indicate additional insights into the effects of advertising on children's food knowledge, preferences and food choice.

The IDEFICS cohort: design, characteristics and participation in the baseline survey

“…19 Four modules that are typically not applied in population-based studies of small children (blood measures, accelerometry, fitness and bone stiffness) are described below. For further details on these and other examination modules, see Suling et al 15 and Stomfai et al 20 Blood measures.…”

Reliability and validity of television food advertising questionnaire in Malaysia

“…In Section F, for each food pair, the children were required to record which food type that they preferred and for Section G, the children were required to record which food type that they believed to be healthier. Even though the items were adapted Gwozdz and Reisch (Gwozdz and Reisch, 2011), some of the foods were modified or added to suit the local situation as recommended by the local experts. The 10 matched food pairs (in order of sequence) were sugar-free breakfast cereals versus sugared breakfast cereals, white rice versus fried rice (local food added), snack foods versus biscuits (local food added), carbonated drinks (modified from 'Coke') versus plain water, noodles prepared at home (modified from 'pasta') versus instant noodles (modified form 'pot noodles'), fried chicken (modified from 'beef burger') versus chicken soup (modified from 'roast beef'), fruit yoghurt (modified from 'strawberry yoghurt') versus fruit cake (modified from 'strawberry cake'), wholemeal bread and white bread, fried potatoes (French fries) versus boiled potatoes (modified from potato) and fruits (modified from 'orange') versus fruit-flavoured ice-cream or ice confection (modified from 'orange ice'.…”

“…The other areas, which were purchasing and purchase-related behaviour and diet and health status, were not covered in this questionnaire. Items for knowledge on television food advertising (section E) were adapted from Jolls (Jolls, 2011), whereas items for knowledge on healthier food (section F) and preference for healthier food (section G) were adapted from Gwozdz and Reisch (Gwozdz and Reisch, 2011). Items for Consumption of Commonly Advertised Foods (section H) were adapted from Stansfeld et al (Stansfeld et al, 2003).…”

“…Media literacy education on television food advertising is relatively new in Malaysia and to our knowledge there is no standard instrument developed for our population to determine the effectiveness of media literacy education. Other studies (Stansfeld et al, 2003;Gwozdz and Reisch, 2011;Jolls, 2011) regarding food advertising and food consumption have used instruments suitable for European and American population. The objective of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a questionnaire on television food advertising, which will be used to assess the effect of media literacy education on television food advertising among schoolchildren.…”

Five-minutes-to-twelve for implementation of early changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviour across Europe

“…This supplement contains many studies carried out to ensure the quality and rigour of measures included in the IDEFICS study. This measurement rigour has been applied to diet 8,9 and physical activity, [10][11][12] as well as to measurement of social and biological determinants [13][14][15] and health consequences. [16][17][18][19][20] Furthermore, the detailed description of both the strengths and limitations with regard to measurement selection and development is an important resource for dissemination, given its potential for shaping future studies.…”