TV ads influence dietary habits of kids

WASHINGTON - TV ads seem to influence short-term eating habits of children aged 2 to 11 years, says a study.

In 2006, 10 major US food companies pledged to devote at least half of their child-oriented ads to encouraging good nutrition and healthy lifestyles under the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.

By 2009, six more companies had signed on.

“Given that each company defined their own better-for-you products… key questions remain,” said study authors from the Institute of Medicine.

To assess trends in food ads before and after the initiative, Lisa M. Powell at the University of Illinois at Chicago studied TV ratings data from the Nielsen Media Research for 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Between 2003 and 2007, daily average exposure to televised food ads decreased by 13.7 percent among children aged 2 to 5 and 3.7 percent among children aged 6 to 11, but went up 3.7 percent among teens aged 12 to 17.

Ads for sweets became less frequent, with a 41 percent decrease in exposure for two to five-year-olds, 29.3 percent for 6- to 11-year-olds and 12.1 percent for 12- to 17-year-olds.

“Indeed, children have been found to recognise brand logos at very young ages/ A recent study found that preschoolers exhibited significantly higher preferences for food and beverage items in branded vs plain packaging,” the study authors write.

However, exposure to fast-food ads increased between 2003 and 2007, with a 4.7 percent increase in viewing among children age two to five, 12.2 percent among children 6 to 11 and 20.4 percent among teens age 12 to 17, according to a university statement.

These findings will appear in the September print issue of Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.