Television advertising of foodstuffs potentially detrimental to oral health--a content analysis and comparison of children's and primetime broadcasts.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to examine the nature, content and duration of advertisements broadcast during children's television; determine the proportion of advertisements promoting food; identify the potential of the food advertised to be detrimental to oral health; and to compare the nature and content of advertisements aimed at children with those transmitted during evening 'primetime' television. BASIC RESEARCH
DESIGN: Children's and primetime television, broadcast on a main independent terrestrial channel in South Wales were video recorded, 237 and 42 hours being analysed in total.
RESULTS: Analysis of the recording resulted in a total of 3,236 commercials, of which 2,345 were broadcast during children's television and 891 in primetime. During children's TV, 62.5% of advertising time was devoted to foodstuffs, significantly greater (P< 0.001) than the 18.4% of time spent advertising foods during primetime. Of the time spent advertising foods, during children's television 73.4% was devoted to products deemed potentially detrimental to oral health (primarily high in sugar), compared to 18.6% similarly categorised during evening television.
CONCLUSIONS: Commercials for products which have the potential to adversely affect oral health constitute a large proportion of advertising time during children's television. Current codes of the Independent Television Commission governing advertising directed at children should be reviewed.