A year after food companies pledged to combat childhood obesity with new advertising policies, University of Arkansas researchers see little change.
Research at the University of Arkansas shows that a year after major food companies announced new advertising policies to combat childhood obesity, there have been no significant changes in television food advertisements that children view. Not only were unhealthy foods the most frequently advertised, but child-targeted commercials continued to employ the very production techniques and persuasive appeals that make it difficult for children to critically evaluate advertising.
"Our primary conclusion is that little changed across the collection of food and beverage advertising analyzed in the two years of our sample. It appears that many advertisers selling unhealthy foods, at the very least, left their advertising practices unchanged despite a potential backlash from critics or the government," the researchers wrote.Complete article on TV Food Advertising.
Visit the Peaceful Playgrounds website for additional articles on kids nutrition and healthy eating programming for children including: Stopping Childhood Obesity - April 2004, Nutrition and Schools - April 2004 , and Nutrition and Physical Activity - A Winning Combination - February 2004.