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Indirect Associations Between Commercial Television Exposure and Child Body Mass Index
Emma Boyland1, Magdalena Muc1, Bridget Kelly2
1Department of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
|January 11, 2021
Summary
Television advertising for unhealthy foods influences children's body mass index (BMI) through purchase requests, purchasing, and consumption. Commercial TV exposure showed stronger links to unhealthy eating behaviors and BMI than noncommercial TV.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Nutritional Science
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health concern.
- Food marketing, particularly through television (TV), is suspected to influence children's dietary habits and weight.
- Understanding the pathways linking TV advertising to child body weight is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test a model examining how exposure to TV advertising for unhealthy foods affects child body weight.
- To investigate the mediating roles of purchase requests, food purchasing, and consumption in this relationship.
- To compare the effects of commercial versus noncommercial TV advertising.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional online study was conducted in the United Kingdom with 2,260 parent-child dyads (children aged 7-11 years).
- Parents reported on children's TV exposure and anthropometric data (height, weight).
- Children self-reported on pestering for advertised foods, purchasing, and consumption of unhealthy foods. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis.
Main Results:
- Commercial TV advertising exposure was indirectly associated with children's body mass index (BMI) z-scores through purchase requests, purchasing, and consumption.
- Direct associations were found between commercial TV exposure and increased purchase requests, purchasing, and consumption of unhealthy foods.
- Associations between noncommercial TV exposure and behavioral or body weight outcomes were weaker than those for commercial TV.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a hierarchy of effects model where TV advertising influences children's unhealthy food consumption and potentially their body weight.
- Behavioral pathways, including pestering, purchasing, and consumption, mediate the link between advertising and BMI.
- Future longitudinal research is recommended to establish causal inferences regarding food marketing and child weight outcomes.
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