Television food and beverage marketing to children in Costa Rica: current state and policy implications

Abstract

Objective:To examine the frequency of television (TV) food and beverage advertisements (F&B ads) to which children (4–11 years) are likely exposed and the nutrient profile of products advertised.Design:TV broadcasting between September and November 2016 was recorded (288 h of children’s programming; 288 h of family programming) resulting in 8980 advertisements, of which 1862 were F&B ads. Of those, 1473 could be classified into one of the seventeen food groups, and into permitted/non-permitted according to the WHO-EU nutrient profile model. Persuasive marketing techniques used were also identified.Setting:TV programming was recorded for four weekdays and four weekend days, between 06.00 and 00.00 hours (576 total hours), for four channels (two national and two cable), in Costa Rica.Results:Mean (sd) number of F&B ads/h was greater in cable than national channels (3·7 (0·4) v. 2·8 (0·4), P < 0·05) and during children’s peak viewing hours (4·4 (0·4) v. 2·9 (0·3)). Of F&B ads classified with WHO-EU nutrient profile model (n 1473, 71·1 %), 91·1 % were non-permitted to be marketed to children. Categories most frequently advertised were ready-made/convenience foods (16 %), chocolates/confectionery/desserts (15 %), breakfast cereals (14 %), beverages (15 %), edible ices (9 %) and salty snacks (8 %). Non-permitted F&B ads were more likely to use promotional characters, brand benefit claims, and nutrition and health claims than permitted F&B ads.Conclusions:Children watching popular TV channels in Costa Rica are exposed to a high number of unhealthy F&B ads daily. Our findings help justify the need for regulatory actions by national authorities.

Nutritional Content According to the Presence of Front of Package Marketing Strategies: The Case of Ultra-Processed Snack Food Products Purchased in Costa Rica

“…Similarly, the savory snacks category is one of the categories with a higher content of saturated fat and sodium, implying that products with higher use of MS are less healthy. Additionally, it is well known that these strategies directly affect the selection of products in children [23,24,25,26,27]. Experimental studies showed that the presence of promotional characters could increase children’s appetite, preference for, choice of, and intake of less healthy foods [24].…”

“…Additionally, premium offers and promotional characters encourage and motivate children to think that products are healthier and funny than others [23]. Many studies confirm the vulnerability of children because of their inability to understand the persuasive intent or such marketing strategies [24,25,26,27]. These strategies may lead to excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods with the corresponding high intake of added sugars, saturated fats, trans fat, sodium, and calories [20,24,28].…”

Food environment solutions for childhood obesity in Latin America and among Latinos living in the United States

“…In Latin America, the United States, and across the globe, research consistently documents high exposure to TV advertising for ultra‐processed foods, especially on children's programming and during peak viewing times. 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 Marketing tactics that disproportionately appeal to children, such as licensed cartoon characters, brand spokes‐characters, promotions, and fun/cool emotional appeals are common on TV and product packaging. 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 Research documenting other types of child‐directed food marketing is limited.…”

Sedentary Behaviors of a School Population in Brazil and Related Factors

“…A transcultural adaptation was conducted of the abridged questionnaire of Eating Habits of the School Population of the “PERSEO” program (Pilot School Reference Program for Health and Exercise against Obesity) by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition, validated in the Spanish population and translated into Portuguese [ 20 ]. A draft was sent to three social scientists and experts in this area who were external to the research team.…”