Exposure of French Children and Adolescents to Advertising for Foods High in Fat, Sugar or Salt

Abstract

Food marketing of products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), including television advertising, is one of the environmental factors considered as a contributor to the obesity epidemic. The main objective of this study was to quantify the exposure of French children and adolescents to television advertisements for HFSS products. TV food advertisements broadcast in 2018 were categorized according to the Nutri-Score of the advertised products. These advertisements, identified according to the days and times of broadcast, were cross-referenced with audience data for 4- to 12-year-olds and 13- to 17-year-olds. More than 50% of food advertisements seen on television by children and adolescents concerned HFSS products, identified as classified as Nutri-Score D and E. In addition, half of advertisements for D and E Nutri-Score products were seen by children and adolescents in the evening during peak viewing hours, when more than 20% of both age groups watched television. On the other hand, during the same viewing hours, the percentage of children and adolescents who watched youth programs, the only programs subject to an advertising ban, was very low (<2%). These results show that the relevance of regulating advertising at times when the television audience of children and adolescents is the highest and not targeted at youth programs, in order to reduce their exposure to advertising for products of low nutritional quality.

Nutritional Quality and Degree of Processing of Children’s Foods Assessment on the French Market

“…According to a report by the European Commission, 64% of online advertisements and 75% of TV spots for food and beverages shown to children in Europe in 2017–2019 were for HFSS foods [ 14 ]. In France, 70.0% of products advertised on TV to 4- to 12-year-olds in 2018 should not be shown to children according to the criteria of the WHO Europe Nutrient Profile Model [ 15 ] and 53.3% were classified Nutri-Score groups D and E [ 11 , 16 ]. Moreover, advertisements targeting children mainly promote ultra-processed foods (UPFs) according to observations made around schools [ 17 , 18 , 19 ] and children’s TV shows (98.9% of spots for UPFs in Argentina [ 20 ]).…”

Nutritional content and quality of processed foods and beverages advertised near schools in three cities in the north of Spain

“…The tendency to include products categorised as D or E seems common in marketing strategies most often including children's products (Richonnet et al, 2021) and is consistent with other authors' content analyses of food and drink advertising in mass media. In a study developed by Escalon et al (2021) in France, it was observed that foods belonging to categories D or E tend to be advertised on television in the time slots during which children watch on television. A similar trend is observed in Spain, where the marketing of foods or beverages viewed by children on television include 34% and 13% of products classified as D and E, respectively (Montaña et al, 2019).…”

Reshaping Food Policy and Governance to Incentivize and Empower Disadvantaged Groups for Improving Nutrition

“…Evidence shows that the ways in which retailers and the market promote food will directly influence children’s preferences, nutrition knowledge, and dietary patterns and further affect their nutrition intake and health [ 42 , 43 ]. Consumers, particularly caregivers, parents, and children, may be drawn to unhealthy food and acquire dietary habits as a result of repeated information created by the advertising, branding, and marketing of unhealthy foods, such as products that are high in fat, sugar, and salt [ 42 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Small- and medium-sized firms (SMEs) are important linkages between the industry and consumers in developing countries, but they have limited incentives to serve nutritious food to low-income consumers in the absence of targeted food subsidies.…”