Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US
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BioMed Central
Open Access
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Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US Mary Story* and Simone French Address: Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA Email: Mary Story* - [email protected]; Simone French - [email protected] * Corresponding author
Published: 10 February 2004 International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2004, 1:3
Received: 09 September 2003 Accepted: 10 February 2004
This article is available from: http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/1/1/3 © 2004 Story and French; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL.
Abstract In recent years, the food and beverage industry in the US has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. As a result, children and adolescents are now the target of intense and specialized food marketing and advertising efforts. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behavior. These food marketing channels include television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. Foods marketed to children are predominantly high in sugar and fat, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations. The purpose of this article is to examine the food advertising and marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in the US, the impact of food advertising on eating behavior, and current regulation and policies.
Introduction Nutrition during childhood and adolescence is essential for growth and development, health and well-being. [1,2] Further, eating behaviors established during childhood track into adulthood and contribute to long-term health and chronic disease risk. [3,4] Numerous studies have consistently documented that dietary intake patterns of American children and adolescents are poor and do not meet national dietary goals. [5-8] In addition, US food consumption trend data show a shift over the past few decades. Children and adolescents are eating more food away from home, drinking more soft drinks, and snacking more frequently. [9-11] American children now obtain over 50% of their calories from fat or added sugar (32% and 20%, respectively). [12]
The growing epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity is a major public health concern. Currently 15% of US youth are overweight, a prevalence nearly twice as high in children and three times as high in adolescents compared to 1980 prevalence rates. [13] Almost two-thirds (60%) of overweight children have at least one cardiovascular risk fac
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