Unhealthy food advertisements on television may lead
to childhood obesity, says study
Advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages with high
sugar or salt may be contributing to the growing obesity epidemic
among children as researchers have found that such commercials adversely impact
their food choice and lead to harmful diets. The researchers examined caloric
intake and dietary preference among more than 6,000 children and assessed the
effects of unhealthy food and beverage marketing.
The study showed that marketing increased dietary intake
and influenced dietary preference in children during or shortly after exposure
to advertisements. ‘The findings demonstrate the influence that these
advertisements, a growing epidemic, have on children’s food choices,’ said lead
author Behnam Sadeghirad, Ph.D. student at McMaster University in Hamilton,
Ontario, Canada. The study, published in the scientific journal Obesity
Reviews, revealed that children are exposed to an average of five food ads
per hour, with unhealthy foods accounting for greater than 80 per cent of all
televised food advertisements in Canada, the United States and Germany.
When children were exposed to unhealthy advertisements,
they consumed significantly more unhealthy than healthy calories, the findings
showed. The study also suggest that younger children might be more susceptible
to the impact of food and beverage marketing in terms of quantity and quality
of calories consumed. ‘Overall, our analyses show the need for a review of
public policy on child-targeted unhealthy food and beverage marketing,’
corresponding author of the study Assistant Professor Bradley Johnston at
McMaster added.
Source: www.thehealthsite.com
07.07.2016
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