Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Food Marketing to Children: A Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Appeals to Young People Through Advertising and Programming

Abstract

Concern has grown about the role of food marketing as a contributor to childhood obesity. This led the food industry to adopt a program of self-regulation, with participating companies promising to limit child-targeted advertising to healthier products. This study assesses the impact of industry self-regulation by comparing the advertising content on children’s television programs both before and after the initiative was implemented. Findings indicate that participating companies have fulfilled their specific self-regulatory commitments, but that no significant improvement in the overall nutritional quality of foods marketed to children has been achieved. This outcome likely occurs because of the weak nutritional standards employed for self-regulation, as well as the fact that a substantial proportion of child-oriented food marketers do not participate in self-regulation. This pattern of advertising behavior raises questions about the sincerity of the food industry’s efforts to address concerns about childhood obesity.

Authors

• Dale Kunkel, U of Arizona

• Jessica Castonguay, U of Arizona

• Christine R. Filer, U of Arizona