Journal
PUBLIC HEALTH NUTRITION
Volume 14, Issue 8, Pages 1337-1344Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S1368980010002983
Keywords
Children; Magazines; Food marketing; Food choices; Experimental design
Funding
- Australian Research Council
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Objective: The present study sought to determine the feasibility of an experimental research design to investigate the effects of exposure to magazine advertising on children's food choices. Design: Children were randomized to read either a magazine with food advertisements or a magazine with no food advertisements. They then chose two food items from the intervention 'store' to eat after the session. Data were also collected on attitudes to advertising and snack food preferences. Finally, participants' parents were provided with a self-completion survey on food choices and other variables (n 24). Setting: Three vacation care centres in regional New South Wales, Australia. Subjects: Children aged 5-12 years (n 47). Results: Children in the experimental condition were more likely to choose advertised foods than those in the control group. Interestingly, the majority reported taste and healthiness as the most important factors in snack food choices; however, when faced with the actual food choice, they predominantly chose unhealthy foods (eighty-two unhealthy and only twelve healthy items were chosen). Conclusions: This was the first study to assess the effects on children of exposure to food advertising within the context of reading a child-targeted magazine. Importantly, even with the small sample size and venue limitations, we found that exposure to magazine advertising influenced food choices. Children's magazines are an under-researched and poorly regulated medium, with considerable potential to influence children's food choices. The present study shows that the methodology is feasible, and future studies could replicate this with larger samples.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available