Introduction
Have you ever suddenly craved McDonald's or KFC after seeing those huge billboards or adverts at a bus stop? Do you ever wonder why the food on these posters never looks the same when you buy it? Well, this is due to food marketing, which is highly effective, especially for children.
In 2021, food companies spent $222.32 million on digital food advertising in the UK, the majority of which promoted junk food, sweets, sugary drinks and unhealthy snacks. In England, it is estimated that 1 in 3 children leave primary school either overweight or living with obesity. Children exposed to junk food and drink advertising are at an increased risk of developing childhood obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.1
This article aims to discuss how food is marketed to children, its impact on their health, and effective strategies for reducing exposure to food marketing while challenging industry practices.
How is food marketed to children?
The food industry uses powerful and clever tactics to promote unhealthy food to children. Companies are aware that children’s brains are not fully developed, making them more likely to believe adverts that claim a pizza is 'the best tasting ever’. By targeting highly vulnerable children, the food industry uses various strategies to shape their tastes and preferences.1
Common tactics used by the food industry
Television adverts
Most food products promoted in television adverts are high in fat, sugar and/or salt (HFSS). Food companies use child-friendly tactics, like cartoon characters and catchy songs, to promote their products to children. As a result, children are exposed to very little advertising that promotes fruits and vegetables. For example, in 2020 only 2.5% of food and drink advertising expenditure was dedicated to fruit and vegetables.2
The UK currently has a ban in place that restricts the advertising of HFSS foods in children’s television shows, which came into force in 2007.3 However, subsequent studies and research have found these restrictions have not been successful. In fact, researchers have found that children (as young as four years old) have had higher exposure to HFSS food marketing on television since the 2007 restrictions.4 Shockingly, television advertising of HFSS foods is estimated to account for 6.4% of childhood obesity in the UK.2
Sports event sponsorship
Sponsorships are powerful marketing tools, with deals often worth millions of dollars. Food marketing in sports includes athlete endorsements, partnerships between food companies and sports organisations or clubs, and the use of food company logos.
We all know children participating in sports are encouraged to lead healthier lifestyles. Unfortunately, sports-related food marketing is heavily driven by the junk food industry. A staggering 76% of sports sponsorships are tied to the marketing of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened drinks.
Major sporting events like the Olympics, World Cup and the EURO are watched by millions of fans worldwide, including children. However, the sports brands participating in these events are often associated with companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Deliveroo, and KP Snacks. Promotions are not limited to television advertisements or physical branding, like billboards at events. For example, YouTube sports sponsorship advertisements received 195.6 million views from commercials uploaded between 2006 and 2016.
Food companies may not necessarily be targeting their marketing directly at children. However, the association between unhealthy food and drink and sports brands and athletes poses a clear problem for children.
Product placement
Some forms of food marketing are obvious, such as television advertisements, whereas others are more subtle. Product placement involves a branded food or drink being featured in a film, television show, music video, or video game. For children, marketing through product placement might include a superhero sipping from a can of Coca-Cola or a cartoon character eating pizza with visible Pizza Hut packaging.
Packaging and labelling
Food companies market their products to children by manipulating product packaging and labelling. Strategies include colourful, eye-catching designs and the use of popular children’s characters to capture their attention. One of the most notable examples of food marketing to children through packaging is the McDonald’s Happy Meal, which offers a promotional toy with each purchase. Each year, 1.2 billion Happy Meals are sold worldwide, backed by an advertising budget of $32 million.
Food products are often promoted with health claims that can be misleading, especially for parents who have the best intentions for their children. A 2019 study examined a range of food products marketed to children, such as breakfast cereals, fruit snacks, ready meals, and dairy products. Researchers found that a significant proportion of these products were less healthy than the claims on their packaging, which created confusion.5
Online and social media
The internet has become a dominant platform for marketing, making it a prevalent channel for promoting products to children. Every day, children and young people are inundated with food marketing through social media, YouTube, websites, and endorsements by celebrities and influencers. Research by Cancer Research UK revealed that 86% of 11- to 19-year-olds had seen junk food advertisements on social media. Further, 64% reported seeing influencers promote unhealthy foods, and 88% encountered special promotional offers for junk food.
In 2019, children under 16 were exposed to an astounding 15 billion junk food advertisements online. Food companies specifically target children’s websites. Research in Canada found that more than 50 million food and drink adverts appeared on the top 10 most popular children’s websites each year, with over 90% of these adverts promoting ultra-processed foods, like soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cookies, and chicken nuggets.
The impact of food marketing on children’s health
- Changing children’s food preferences and choices
The majority of advertisements promote HFSS foods, which are linked to poor health outcomes. Recommendations from the World Health Organisation suggest that food marketing influences children's food choices and dietary intake, and negatively impacts the development of healthy food norms for children.
- Poor eating habits
Food marketing, which mostly promotes unhealthy food and drink, encourages unhealthy dietary habits in childhood that can persist into adulthood. Advertising strategies can encourage snacking and shift perceptions of what is considered a ‘normal’ healthy diet, potentially leading to overconsumption of calories. A higher intake of calories and HFSS foods is associated with weight gain and an increased risk of serious health consequences, including obesity and type-2 diabetes.
- Exacerbates health inequalities
Food marketing disproportionately targets children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and minority communities. Research conducted in the UK has found that children living in deprived areas are exposed to more unhealthy food and drink advertising compared to those in wealthier neighbourhoods.6 Children in low-income areas already face limited access to healthy food and live in communities where chronic conditions, like obesity, are more prevalent.
Strategies to navigate food marketing
To reduce the potentially harmful effects of food marketing on children’s health, it is important to assess how their food environment either supports or hinders healthy food choices. Some techniques are available for parents, including:
- Limit screen time on television and electronic devices to reduce the number of adverts children are exposed to daily
- Educate children about food marketing techniques so they can recognise how these products are designed to look attractive to them
- Encourage food literacy to empower children to make healthy choices. Developing food literacy in childhood can foster healthy and sustainable eating habits and improve eating behaviours
- Emphasise the importance of consuming whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, meat and fish, to model healthful behaviours to children.
Support for parents and teachers
- Educational digital tools: Utilise websites, apps, and games designed to teach children about food marketing
- Guidance on conversations: Offer tips and strategies for effectively talking to children about food marketing
Summary
Navigating food marketing aimed at children is complex, as the food industry employs a variety of strategies to target young audiences. As highlighted in the article, food marketing mainly promotes unhealthy products, like HFSS foods. This can significantly influence children’s tastes and preferences, leading to health issues such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, it is possible to improve children's food environments and help them make better food choices. Setting clear boundaries on digital device usage can be beneficial, but equally important is educating children about nutrition labels and the marketing tactics used by the food industry. While parents can model healthy behaviours, systemic changes are also necessary to address health disparities, especially for children from lower-income backgrounds. For meaningful progress, tighter regulations on food marketing are needed, and empowering children with food literacy can help them make informed decisions and sustain healthy eating habits.
References
- Smith R, Kelly B, Yeatman H, Boyland E. Food marketing influences children’s attitudes, preferences and consumption: a systematic critical review. Nutrients [Internet]. 2019 Apr 18 [cited 2024 Sep 11];11(4):875. Available from: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/4/875
- Forde H, Boyland EJ, Scarborough P, Smith R, White M, Adams J. Exploring the potential impact of the proposed UK TV and online food advertising regulations: a concept mapping study. BMJ Open [Internet]. 2022 Jun [cited 2024 Sep 11];12(6):e060302. Available from: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-060302
- Boyland EJ, Harris JL. Regulation of food marketing to children: are statutory or industry self-governed systems effective? Public Health Nutr [Internet]. 2017 Apr [cited 2024 Sep 11];20(5):761–4. Available from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1368980017000465/type/journal_article
- Adams J, Tyrrell R, Adamson AJ, White M. Effect of restrictions on television food advertising to children on exposure to advertisements for ‘less healthy’ foods: repeat cross-sectional study. PLoS One [Internet]. 2012 [cited 2024 Sep 11];7(2):e31578. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22355376/
- García AL, Morillo-Santander G, Parrett A, Mutoro AN. Confused health and nutrition claims in food marketing to children could adversely affect food choice and increase risk of obesity. Arch Dis Child [Internet]. 2019 Jun [cited 2024 Sep 12];104(6):541–6. Available from: https://adc.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/archdischild-2018-315870
- Olsen JR, Patterson C, Caryl FM, Robertson T, Mooney SJ, Rundle AG, et al. Exposure to unhealthy product advertising: Spatial proximity analysis to schools and socio-economic inequalities in daily exposure measured using Scottish Children’s individual-level GPS data. Health & Place [Internet]. 2021 Mar 1 [cited 2024 Sep 12];68:102535. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829221000319