Food and beverage advertising on children's TV channels in Argentina: Frequency, duration, and nutritional quality

• Autores: Rovirosa, Alicia; Zapata, María E; Gómez, Paula; Gotthelf, Susana J.; Ferrante, Daniel
• Año de publicación: 2017
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Fuente: Archivos Argentinos de Pediatría 2017; 115(1):28-34
• Materia: Bebidas; Niño; Publicidad de Alimentos; Calidad de los Alimentos; Televisión; Publicidad; Argentina; Estudios Transversales; Humanos; Factores de Tiempo; Alimentos; Valor Nutritivo
• Institución: Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud "Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán"

Fil: Rovirosa, Alicia. Centro de Estudios sobre Nutrición Infantil; Argentina.
Fil: Zapata, María E. Universidad de Centro Educativo Latinoamericano. Facultad de Química; Argentina.
Fil: Gómez, Paula. Universidad de Belgrano. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentina.
Fil: Gotthelf, Susana. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Nutricionales; Argentina.
Fil: Ferrante, Daniel. Ministerio de Salud; Argentina.
Food and beverage marketing has been identified as one of the determinants of unhealthy food and beverage consumption in the child population. Objective: To determine the frequency and duration of food and beverage advertising in children's programming and the nutritional quality of advertised food and beverages. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. Children's cable and broadcast channel programming was recorded in two periods: over the week and on the weekend. The type, quantity, and duration of commercials were recorded. The nutritional quality of advertised food and beverages was analyzed. Results: A total of 402.3 hours of children's programming were recorded. In total, 3711 commercials were identified. Among these, 20.9% corresponded to food and beverages, i.e., an average of 1.9 ± 1.0 commercials per hour or equivalent to 0.68 ± 0.36 min/hour. Dairy products, candies, and fast-food meals were the most advertised food products. Only a third of advertised food and beverages (35.8%) were categorized as healthy as per the nutrient profiling system. Based on the traffic light labeling system, 50% of advertised food and beverages were high in sugar, 25% were high in saturated fat, and approximately 15% were high in sodium or fat. Conclusion: Food and beverage advertising accounted for 20% of television advertising time. The most advertised products were dairy products, followed by candies and sweet snacks, fast-food meals, and beverages. Two-thirds of advertised food and beverages were considered unhealthy.