Abstract
Television advertising is an effective medium for reaching young children and influencing their
food purchasing and intake. The objective of this study is to explore food and beverages advertising during children’s television programs.Methods: Records of children’s free television programs on channels 3, 5, 7 and 9 was the main data
collection method. Data was collected during March 24-April 7, 2014 on Monday-Friday at 03:00 p.m. to
08:00 p.m. and on Saturday-Sunday at 06:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 03:00 p.m. to 08:00 p.m. A total of 42
programs from top three programs that had the most food and drinks advertisement were selected into
this study. Unhealthy food and beverages advertisement was included in the analysis. Food advertisement was organized according to the food group classification from the Nutrient Profile. The study found that the majority of the advertising of food and drink is unhealthy food and drinks
advertisement. The most popular form of advertisement used by the food industry was using presenters
such as celebrity children and adults, athletes, and cartoon characters. Moreover, food and beverages industries used a loophole of regulations for advertising and did not comply with the law. Inappropriate forms and contents of the advertisement for children were observed. Considering the law enforcement, there is currently no comprehensive control of forms and contents of advertisement targeting on children. Therefore, government should seriously develop the law enforcement and should prepare including update regulations and guidelines to control forms and contents of unhealthy food and beverages advertising in order to protect the health of children and youth.
