title: Food marketing to children on U.S. Spanish-language television.
abstract: Latino children in particular are at risk of childhood obesity. Because exposure to televised food marketing is a contributor to childhood obesity, it is important to examine the nutritional quality of foods advertised on Spanish-language children's programming. The authors analyzed a sample of 158 Spanish-language children's television programs for its advertising content and compared them with an equivalent sample of English-language advertising. The authors evaluated nutritional quality of each advertised product using a food rating system from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, the authors assessed compliance with industry self-regulatory pledges. The authors found that amount of food advertising on Spanish-language channels (M = 2.2 ads/hour) was lower than on English-language programs, but the nutritional quality of food products on Spanish-language channels was substantially poorer than on English channels. Industry self-regulation was less effective on Spanish-language channels. The study provides clear evidence of significant disparities. Food advertising targeted at Spanish-speaking children is more likely to promote nutritionally poor food products than advertising on English-language channels. Industry self-regulation is less effective on Spanish-language television channels. Given the disproportionately high rate of childhood obesity among Latinos, the study's findings hold important implications for public health policy.
authors: Department of Communication, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. kunkel@u.arizona.edu
authors: Dale
authors: D
authors: Kunkel
authors: Dana
authors: D
authors: Mastro
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Ortiz
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: McKinley
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D005502:Food; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D009753:Nutritive Value; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000208:ethnology; D013690:Television; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology