A Current Appraisal of Health and Nutrition Related Claims in Indian Childrens Television Food Advertisements

Mekam Maheshwar (), Vijayapushpam T. () and Sylvia Fernandez Rao ()
Additional contact information
Mekam Maheshwar: National Institute of Nutrition
Vijayapushpam T.: National Institute of Nutrition
Sylvia Fernandez Rao: National Institute of Nutrition

Journal of Social Science Studies, 2014, vol. 1, issue 2, 125-135

Abstract: This article reports a content analysis of health-and nutrition-related claims used in food advertisements in popular childrens television channels of India. The authors analyzed 793 food ads ran for a total duration of 20,260 seconds in a span of 7 days in two television channels. Their research shows that nutrient content claims (i.e., ones that focus on a specific nutrient component such as ¡°low in fat¡±) are the most predominantly used, followed by general nutrition claims, structure/ functional claims, and healthy claims. The least used category is health claims, in which the advertised food is linked to reduced risk of a disease or health problem. Researchers analysis suggests that healthy foods are not advertised nearly as much as unhealthy foods, which continue to be a major public health concern. This seems to suggest a pressing need for marketing promotions that focus on healthier food options, particularly targeting vulnerable populations such as children.

Keywords: Children; Television; Food advertisements; HNR claims (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jsss/article/view/5206/4202 (application/pdf)
http://www.macrothink.org/journal/index.php/jsss/article/view/5206/4202 (text/html)

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:mth:jsss88:v:1:y:2014:i:2:p:125-135

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Social Science Studies is currently edited by John Smith

More articles in Journal of Social Science Studies from Macrothink Institute
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Technical Support Office ( this e-mail address is bad, please contact ).