THE EFFECT OF TELEVISION FOOD ADVERTISING ON CHILDREN’S PREFERENCES, DEMANDS, AND INTAKE OF HIGH-FAT AND LOW-NUTRIENT PRODUCTS

The mainstay of the paper is formed by an analysis of the link between childhood obesity and television advertisements for junk food, the mechanisms by which media may be partly responsible for or reduce the obesity wave, and the success of curtailing food advertising to children. These findings highlight the importance of examining the relationship between vulnerability to television advertisements of unhealthy foods and children’s intake routines, the institution of media education and intervention policies as an approach to curb the childhood obesity wave, and the causal chain between vulnerability to food advertising and obesity-associated health damages. My analysis complements the growing literature on the association between vulnerability to television food advertising and the pervasiveness of childhood stoutness and obesity, the role of intake of diverse foods and nutrients in advancing or hindering obesity among children, and the optimal functions for government and industry in supervising food advertising to children.