[Nutritional health messages transmitted through television advertising. Trends and errors]

The present study analyzes de publicity messages with a alimentary-nutritional content (n = 448), aired by 2 television channels (one public and one private), during 6 hours a day in the first week of October 1993, examining the most frequent tendencies and errors, and whether or not they are adhering to the nutritional standards intended to improve the health of the population. With this aim, a questionnaire was designed, which was submitted to a control prior to doing the study, and which permitted the same study during the years 1991, 1992, and 1993. The message which was most used to promote the sales of the products, was the taste, followed by quality, novelty, health, nutritional and natural. The messages indicating that the product reduces or minimizes fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugar, alcohol, ... are few or lower than those observed in other populations. In some cases the messages may be useful in re-enforcing the standards of the nutritional educators and health care professionals who try to improve the diet and the health of the public. However, in the majority of cases, the message of the advertisements may mislead or confuse the consumer with irrelevant or incomplete information. They also frequently contribute to the promotion of an extremely thin body image, which guides the food choice of a large percentage of the population. The results of the study may help in the planning of nutritional education of the population, and they emphasize the need for a greater supervision and control of the advertisements.