Nutritional Quality of Hidden Food and Beverage Advertising Directed to Children: Extent and Nature of Product Placement in Mexican Television Programs

Ana Munguía-Serrano, Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo, Florence L. Théodore and Stefanie Vandevijvere
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Ana Munguía-Serrano: Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62100, Mexico
Lizbeth Tolentino-Mayo: Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62100, Mexico
Florence L. Théodore: Center for Nutrition and Health Research, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Morelos 62100, Mexico
Stefanie Vandevijvere: School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: (1) Background: Nutrient-poor, energy-dense food and beverage (F&B) advertisements influence children’s food preferences, consumption, and purchase requests, contributing to overweight and obesity. Objective: To characterize the nutritional quality of F&B advertised by product placement (PP) in Mexican television programs with the highest audience ratings for children. (2) Methods: A total of 48 h of television programs between December 2016 and January 2017 during the hours with the highest ratings for children were analyzed. Nutritional quality was assessed through the Mexican Ministry of Health (MMH-NPM), the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO-Europe), and the Pan American Health Organization nutrient profile models (PAHO-NPM). (3) Results: A total of 119 F&B were broadcast, of which more than 60% were unhealthy according to the three nutritional models. Reality shows and movies presented the most PP advertising. The food category most frequently advertised was sugar-sweetened beverages (41.2%). F&B advertised in children’s programs had a higher content of energy, total fat, and saturated fat ( p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The MMH-NPM was the most permissive and the PAHO-NPM was the strictest for evaluating nutritional quality. Mexico must strengthen the regulation of advertising to protect children from its negative effects on health.

Keywords: product placement; children obesity; television; advertising; food and beverages; extent and nature; nutritional content; nutrient profile models; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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