The prevalence and audience reach of food and beverage advertising on Chilean television according to marketing tactics and nutritional quality of products

Abstract

Objective: In light of Chile’s comprehensive new restriction on unhealthy food marketing we analyze food advertising on Chilean television prior to the first and final phases of implementation of the restriction. Design: Content analysis of marketing strategies of 6,976 advertisements, based on products’ nutritional quality. Statistical analysis of total and child audience reached using television ratings data. Setting: Advertising from television aired between 6a-12a during two random composite weeks across April-May 2016 from the four broadcast and four cable channels with the largest youth audiences. Results: Food ads represented 16% of all advertising; 34% of food ads featured a product high in energy, saturated fats, sugars and/or salt (HEFSS), as defined by the initial regulation. HEFSS ads were seen by more children and contained more child-directed marketing strategies than ads without HEFSS foods. If HEFSS advertising is restricted only in programs where 20% are children 4–12y, 31% of children’s and 8% of the general audience’s HEFSS advertising exposure would be reduced. The newest 6a-10p restriction captures 80% of all audience exposure. Conclusions: HEFSS advertising was seen by a large proportion of children before Chile’s regulation. Chile’s first implementation based on audience composition should reduce a third of this exposure, and their second restriction across the television day should eliminate most of the exposure. This study is a crucial first step in evaluating how Chile’s regulation efforts will impact children’s diets and obesity prevalence.

Prevalence of Child-Directed Marketing on Breakfast Cereal Packages before and after Chile’s Food Marketing Law: A Pre- and Post-Quantitative Content Analysis

“…Child-directed food marketing strategies were assessed with a comprehensive protocol that included text and imagery. The protocol was built based on the Chilean food marketing regulation [34], with procedural guidance taken from prior studies of child-directed marketing strategies [7,10,49,50,51,52,53,54]. Packages were coded for two overarching categories of child-directed marketing strategies: the use of child-directed characters and the use of non-character-based elements that appeal to children.…”

Understanding the rise of cardiometabolic diseases in low- and middle-income countries

“…119 Most families have televisions at home and simultaneously, exposure to food advertisements has increased across all socioeconomic groups. [120][121][122][123] With the higher penetration of the Internet, new forms of food promotion are being developed, particularly for children and adolescents. 124,125 There is robust evidence showing that unhealthy food products are more heavily advertised than healthier food options; therefore, higher exposure to food marketing is likely promoting or sustaining unhealthy dietary behaviors in LMICs, especially among children.…”

Screen time and eating during screen time: associations with dietary intake in children and adolescents

“…Children and adolescents are exposed to unhealthy food marketing around the globe [50,51]. Across different countries, the products that are advertised tend to be high in energy, saturated fats, sugars, and sodium, and be of little nutritional value [34,52,53]. Unhealthy food and beverage marketing affects children's food preferences, choice and consumption [54][55][56][57] of advertised products, and in Chile, products commonly advertised on TV during the same time period than when our data collection took place included sodas and sweet desserts (cookies, chocolate, candies, and bakery) [52].…”

“…Across different countries, the products that are advertised tend to be high in energy, saturated fats, sugars, and sodium, and be of little nutritional value [34,52,53]. Unhealthy food and beverage marketing affects children's food preferences, choice and consumption [54][55][56][57] of advertised products, and in Chile, products commonly advertised on TV during the same time period than when our data collection took place included sodas and sweet desserts (cookies, chocolate, candies, and bakery) [52]. Our results suggest that the increase in consumption of advertised products might not necessarily be during screen time itself, but at other times of the day (at least for adolescents), since we did not observe a consistent increased likelihood of consumption of typically advertised products during screen time.…”