Madeline A Dalton1, Meghan R Longacre1, Keith M Drake2, Lauren P Cleveland1, Jennifer L Harris3, Kristy Hendricks1, Linda J Titus1. 1. 1Department of Pediatrics,Hood Center for Children and Families,Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, One Medical Center Drive,HB 7465,Lebanon,NH 03756,USA. 2. 2The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice,Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth,Lebanon,NH,USA. 3. 5Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity,University of Connecticut,Hartford,CT,USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether exposure to child-targeted fast-food (FF) television (TV) advertising is associated with children's FF intake in a non-experimental setting. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey conducted April-December 2013. Parents reported their pre-school child's TV viewing time, channels watched and past-week FF consumption. Responses were combined with a list of FF commercials (ads) aired on children's TV channels during the same period to calculate children's exposure to child-targeted TV ads for the following chain FF restaurants: McDonald's, Subway and Wendy's (MSW). SETTING: Paediatric and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in New Hampshire, USA. SUBJECTS: Parents (n 548) with a child of pre-school age. RESULTS: Children's mean age was 4·4 years; 43·2 % ate MSW in the past week. Among the 40·8 % exposed to MSW ads, 23·3 % had low, 34·2 % moderate and 42·5 % high exposure. McDonald's accounted for over 70 % of children's MSW ad exposure and consumption. Children's MSW consumption was significantly associated with their ad exposure, but not overall TV viewing time. After adjusting for demographics, socio-economic status and other screen time, moderate MSW ad exposure was associated with a 31 % (95 % CI 1·12, 1·53) increase and high MSW ad exposure with a 26 % (95 % CI 1·13, 1·41) increase in the likelihood of consuming MSW in the past week. Further adjustment for parent FF consumption did not change the findings substantially. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to child-targeted FF TV advertising is positively associated with FF consumption among children of pre-school age, highlighting the vulnerability of young children to persuasive advertising and supporting recommendations to limit child-directed FF marketing.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether exposure to child-targeted fast-food (FF) television (TV) advertising is associated with children's FF intake in a non-experimental setting. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey conducted April-December 2013. Parents reported their pre-school child's TV viewing time, channels watched and past-week FF consumption. Responses were combined with a list of FF commercials (ads) aired on children's TV channels during the same period to calculate children's exposure to child-targeted TV ads for the following chain FF restaurants: McDonald's, Subway and Wendy's (MSW). SETTING: Paediatric and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics in New Hampshire, USA. SUBJECTS: Parents (n 548) with a child of pre-school age. RESULTS:Children's mean age was 4·4 years; 43·2 % ate MSW in the past week. Among the 40·8 % exposed to MSW ads, 23·3 % had low, 34·2 % moderate and 42·5 % high exposure. McDonald's accounted for over 70 % of children's MSW ad exposure and consumption. Children's MSW consumption was significantly associated with their ad exposure, but not overall TV viewing time. After adjusting for demographics, socio-economic status and other screen time, moderate MSW ad exposure was associated with a 31 % (95 % CI 1·12, 1·53) increase and high MSW ad exposure with a 26 % (95 % CI 1·13, 1·41) increase in the likelihood of consuming MSW in the past week. Further adjustment for parent FF consumption did not change the findings substantially. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to child-targeted FF TV advertising is positively associated with FF consumption among children of pre-school age, highlighting the vulnerability of young children to persuasive advertising and supporting recommendations to limit child-directed FF marketing.
Entities:
Keywords:
Children; Fast-food advertising; Fast-food consumption; Television
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