Marketing refers to the process employed by companies to encourage the consumption of their commodities. The food industry is one industry that employs this advertising as an essential marketing tool to sell its products. However, the industry has been in the limelight in recent years courtesy of its marketing with children. Foods target children and include the energy-dense fast foods, soft drinks that are carbonated, sugary cereals for breakfast, snacks and baked products usually have high contents of fats, sugars, and salts. In other words, these commodities have poor nutritive elements (Buckingham, 2014). Some experts have remained adamant that such kinds of foods contribute to an obesogenic environment, which makes the choices of healthy meals very challenging and more so for children following the marketing of the products. The main controversy today is in the manner in which advertising of these foods by the food companies affects the children regarding both diet and health.
The World Health Organization, Food, and Agriculture Organization jointly of the United States (WHO/FAO) held expert consultations in the year 2002 and concluded that the heavy advertising of these fast foods together with the energy-dense poor foods and beverages was a “probable” causative factor in gaining weight and obesity among the children (Harris, 2009). In the year 2003, The Food Standards Agency of the United Kingdom conducted a review in a most comprehensive manner and concluded that the advertising of these foods had a significant influence on the choices of food as well as dietary habits. However, a different perspective arose when a publication sponsored by the industry insisted that there was no evidence showing a direct linkage of the food advertising and levels of obesity. The following paper studies the debate on whether the food advertising has any effect on the weight, obesity levels, and health of children.
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Nutrition in childhood and adolescence is imperative for the growth, development, and well-being of an individual. Moreover, eating habits that a child possesses carry forth into their adulthood contributing to their lifelong health and risks of diseases. Numerous studies have concluded that American children have poor dietary patterns hardly meeting the goals of proper nutrition. According to Story (2004), many children eat more food away from their homes, drink many soft drinks, and take many snacks. The children thus get over fifty percent of calories from either fat or added sugars (Story, 2004). Childhood obesity makes one of the epidemics in the United States and hence a major health concern to the public as a whole.
Currently, the country has a 15% overweight youth population, a prevalence that doubles and triples the numbers in the year 1980 for both children and adolescents respectively. Story (2004) remains firm that despite the many factors that influence eating habits among this particular set of people, advertising of food is a very significant factor. The youths today live and maintain in an environment saturated by the media that has seen the past ten years prove the children as targets for advertising by the food industry. A range of channels is employed to aggressively advertise to the children as the marketers are interested in the youthful population courtesy of the billions of dollars they stand to bring them (Story, 2004). Children under twelve spend $25 billion while the rest of the youths spend $140 billion per annum on such foods (Story, 2004).
Effect of Food Advertising on Children
It remains of vital importance to understand whether advertising and marketing of food commodities aimed at children and youths have any impact on their body weight or eating habits. Well, it is imperative to appreciate that most studies conducted on the same topic were done so in the mid-1970s and 80s. The studies concentrated on the relationship that existed between television advertising exposure and preferences of foods by the children as well as choices and intake of the foods (Harris, 2009). A recent study on the effects of television advertising of food on both the pre-school and school going children on the behaviors of foods concludes that children will consistently choose the advertised commodities if they are exposed to television adverts. The study further showed that the children persist in having their parents buy the foods they see on tv. Moreover, particular requests for specific purchases suggest a pattern courtesy of the advertising frequencies. However, there has been a little study conducted on the effects of such advertising on the actual intake of food concerning the children (Martinez, 2012). Many study designs that have been employed in studying the effects of food advertising on the behavior of children regarding food habits have used field experiments or rather cross-sectional studies of correlation. One strength that such association studies have is that they can give the external validity in a high number regardless of the broad range of influences under study. However, one pertinent weakness is the possibility of casualty (Martinez, 2012).
All the studies have focused primarily on the advertising of food on television. However, despite these concerns, evidence since the beginning of these researches confirm a relationship between eating habits and advertising of food. The evidence suggests a positive attitude, preference and behavior towards the products on the advertisements. Research confirms that there is a higher food preference among the pre-schoolers for foods with high sugar and fat content courtesy of the television ads (Martinez, 2012). The eventuality is a corresponding effect on the actual intake of the foods by the children. Few studies have considered the exposure of television and the eventual effects on consumption of food by children. Gorn and Goldberg sought to find out the same and carried out a properly designed field study that randomly assigned five to eight-year-olds attending summer camp to conditions of television adverts in snack commercials (Martinez, 2012). The survey was to check on the relationship between the children exposure and their changes in the eating habits. The children watched cartoon for thirty minutes with five-minute television advertisements embedded in them for two weeks every day. The four various conditions were different wit the type of advertised food, candy ads, fruit and fruit juice ads and control as well as public announcements for the healthy foods (Hawkes, 2004). Every day, the children that were in the Kool Candy television exposure were given fruit juice, candy and Kool-Aid selections to eat and most chose the Kool-Aid over the rest. The study showed that indeed, television exposure had a significant impact on the selection of food by the children as it determined what food the children would like to have (Martinez, 2012). It thus goes that television adverts have an impact on the preference of children on foods.
The American Psychology Association conducts a research directed towards the effects of advertising on children. First, it studies whether advertising affects the commercial recall and preferences of the product. If the above does not hold ground, then it would mean the food companies make a $12 billion loss every year in advertising for this given market (American Psychology Association, 2016). Secondly, the association sought to determine whether exposure to advertising results in product consumption that is unhealthy and unfit for the well-being of children. Research on the commercial recall and preference of product confirmed that indeed advertising achieves that effect on children. Numerous studies employing various methods determined that children remember the advert content they are exposed to frequently. On the other hand, preference of product occurs with even the slightest exposure to commercials and the repeated exposure only strengthens the effect.
More fundamental is the effect that these ads have on the relationship that children have or show to potential harm (American Psychology Association, 2016). Findings from many studies confirm that numerous parent-child disagreements occur particularly when the parents deny their children the purchase of advertised food commodities. The cumulative eating habits further show that children eat a lot of candy following the heavy advertisements on TV (American Psychology Association, 2016). It is imperative to understand that despite the fact that intake of nonnutritious foods is not harmful; the overconsumption of such products is linked to poor health and obesity. Several types of research have shown a direct linkage between obesity and unhealthy children with the commercials on foods. Moreover, the American Psychology Association further clarifies that children exposed to tobacco and alcohol advertisements have increased intent to consume the food products.
Public Policy
According to the research by APA, advertising has a substantial effect on the attitudes and behaviors of children, and the impact extends beyond the moving desire of a commodity from brand to brand. It thus ensures that advertising to children below the age of eight is illegal because it takes advantage of the inability these children have in attributing the persuasive intent of advertising (American Psychology Association, 2016). Courtesy of the same, children in this age bracket comprehend the television information from the advertisements without criticism and accept most of the detail as true, unbiased, and accurate. Previously, the advertisers saw the children in this age bracket as off limits until recently when the industry practices developed media technologies that facilitate higher degrees of programming in the niche of ages and related commercials (American Psychology Association, 2016).
The concern on effects of advertisements of children began in the 1960’s and early 70s when the Federal Communications Commission considered banning ads that targeted children. However, it settled for a subtle approach of limiting the advertising amount within the period of children programming as well as restricting certain practices that make it tough for children to choose attributes of intent persuasion. The Federal Trade Commission also held the same though on banning these commercials in the late 1970s but dropped the move due to heavy pressure from the Congress (Hawkes, 2004). According to American Psychology Association (2016), the psychological evidence gathered confirms that the implications have substantial effects on the public policy. Currently, the joint WHO/ FAO remains extremely vocal on the issue releasing progressive reports on the same every year. It is most recent report relates to consultative evidence on the diet and preventive mechanisms of chronic diseases that examine the strengths of the effects of advertising (Hawkes, 2004).
The food industry is one industry that employs this advertising as an essential marketing tool to sell its products. Nutrition in childhood and adolescence is imperative for the growth, development, and well-being of an individual. Moreover, eating habits that a child possesses carry forth into their adulthood contributing to their lifelong health and risks of diseases. The youths today live and maintain in an environment saturated by the media that has seen the past ten years prove the children as targets for advertising by the food industry. Given the evidence, the side that argues that advertisements have significant effects on the children, particularly in preference of food and dietary habits, is correct. Indeed, the exposure to commercials affects the children choices and more so because of their cognitive status that insists they are unable to make distinctive and critical decisions. Therefore, it is well for policies to apply that will check on the extent of these commercials to avoid the effects they have on the young.
References
American Psychology Association. (2016). Advertising and Children . http://www.apa.org . Retrieved 13 November 2016, from http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/advertising-children.aspx
Buckingham, D. (2014). Food advertising and children: Making sure we have a healthy debate (part 1). ASA , 1 (1), 1-5.
Harris, J. L., Bargh, J. A., & Brownell, K. D. (2009). Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health psychology , 28 (4), 404
Hawkes, C. (2004). Marketing Food to Children. The Regulatory Framework. Geneva: World Health Organization .
Martinez, J. (2012). Targeting kids in fast-food advertising: fair or predatory? . Oncentral.org . Retrieved 13 November 2016, from http://www.oncentral.org/news/2012/03/09/targeting-kids-fast-food-advertising-fair-or-preda/
Story, M., & French, S. (2004). Food advertising and marketing directed at children and adolescents in the US. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity , 1 (1), 1.
