The curse of television: Evidence from nutritional outcomes in rural China

Luchen Huang, Yanjun Ren, Omid Zamani and Jens-Peter Loy

World Development, 2025, vol. 192, issue C

Abstract: Nutrition transition has been extensively studied worldwide, yet the potential role of mass media in facilitating this transition remains underexplored, despite its significance as the primary medium for disseminating information in past decades. Using the panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 2004 to 2015, this study investigates the causal effect of TV exposure on nutritional outcomes in rural China and explores the underlying mechanisms. Three aspects of TV exposure are considered: viewing time, program exposure, and advertisement exposure. Our results indicate that TV exposure has a significantly positive effect on the probability of being overweight and obese, regardless of which measurement of TV exposure is considered. This effect is particularly pronounced among males, individuals with lower education levels, those of Han ethnicity, and those who live in high-income households or undeveloped regions. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, we do not observe a significant effect of TV exposure on dietary knowledge, dietary quality (measured by the Dietary Balance Index and Chinese Healthy Eating Index), and exercise time. However, there is a significant positive effect on the consumption of unhealthy foods (including snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages) and increased nutrient intake (including energy, carbohydrate, fat, and protein). Given the adverse health implications associated with TV exposure, it is crucial to consider both traditional broadcast media and emerging information technologies in the development of policies aimed at improving nutritional health from a public health perspective.

Keywords: TV exposure; Nutritional outcomes; Food consumption; Overweight; Obese; Rural China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 F63 I15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X25000993
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:192:y:2025:i:c:s0305750x25000993

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107014

Access Statistics for this article

World Development is currently edited by O. T. Coomes

More articles in World Development from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().