One hour of TV exposes children to 10 junk food ads, says new CSPI analysis

05 Nov 2019 --- Junk-food marketing has not decreased since 2012 and just one hour of viewing children’s networks exposes them to ten junk food ads. This is according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) which analyzed 72 hours of children’s television programming in 2018. Ninety-nine percent of all the food and beverage ads captured during CSPI’s analysis were for unhealthy food products. The organization flags the lack of progress and calls for media to better filter the ads they run that target young viewers.

“We found that for every hour a kid spends in front of Nicktoons or Nickelodeon, she or he is exposed to ten ads for unhealthy food,” says Margo Wootan, CSPI Vice President for Nutrition. “And of all the players involved with marketing food to children, Nickelodeon and its parent company, Viacom, have been among the most stubborn and resistant to change their ways. Many channels need changing but, given its large viewership, Nickelodeon needs to change the most.”

The adverse effects of junk food advertising targeting children have been previously flagged by research, with obesity being the main cause of concern. Governments around the world are making moves to tackle this, with the UK implementing a ban on junk food ads across London’s transportation links, while in March the UK government also announced plans to ban junk food ads before 9pm.

Despite this, a recent report from the UK Advertising Association noted that childhood obesity is predominantly the result of sedentary lifestyles rather than junk food ads. The report claimed to “dispel some the myths that exist around advertising and its role.” 

The adverse effects of junk food advertising targeting children have been previously flagged by research, with obesity being the main cause of concern.The last time researchers at CSPI scanned the airwaves for junk-food ads on kids’ TV was 2012. In their most recent study, CSPI researchers recorded six hours of children’s television programming on each of the 12 biggest US channels that offer it. Twenty-three percent of all the ads during the six hours were for foods or beverages, up from 14 percent in 2012. 

Restaurants were the top category of food and drink advertised to kids (35 percent), followed by candy (22 percent), breakfast cereals (12 percent), beverages (10 percent) and snack foods (6 percent). Nicktoons and Nickelodeon had the highest number of unhealthy ads in 2018, followed by Discovery Family and the Cartoon Network.

CSPI also looked at whether the food and beverage ads lived up to the industry’s own standards, developed by the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI). In the 2018 survey, 65 percent of food and drink ads on children’s TV failed to meet the CFBAI standards, down from 68 percent in 2012. (After the completion of CSPI’s report, the CFBAI announced further updates to its nutrition criteria that will take effect in 2020.)

The report, dubbed Changing the Channels: How Big Media Helps Big Food Target Kids (and What to Do about It), found that junk-food advertising to children varies widely from channel to channel. To assign letter grades, CSPI scored the networks based on the number of food and beverage ads that failed to meet the industry’s CFBAI nutrition criteria. Two channels, PBS and Univision, received A grades. They aired no food or beverage ads during the 2018 study period. (PBS earned a D and Univision an F in 2012, which makes them the most-improved channels.) 

The Disney channels (Disney, Disney Junior and Disney XD) and Nick Jr. received B grades. Ds or Fs were handed out to the remaining channels: Universal Kids (which was Sprout in 2012), Boomerang, Cartoon Network, Discovery Family (previously Hub), Nickelodeon and Nicktoons. Several channels that CSPI monitored in 2012, including CW, CBS, NBC, Telemundo, and ABC, no longer offered children’s programming in 2018.

CSPI’s recommendations
The CSPI recommends that media companies should stop accepting ads for products that can harm their young viewers’ health and well-being. They also suggest that media companies should adopt strong, publicly available policies to address the healthfulness of foods and beverages marketed on their platforms. 

Furthermore, the CFBAI should further strengthen its updated nutrition standards, especially by encouraging the inclusion of healthful food components like fruits, vegetables and whole grains, the organization says. 

Edited by Kristiana Lalou