How Do Advertising and Media Influence Children’s and Parent’s Food Choices?

children's food choices

Marketing rolled out by food companies and the media can influence children’s food choices, which results in kids wanting unhealthy products with little nutritional value. This practice plays a pivotal role in shaping the food preferences of kids and their consumption habits. A poor diet at an early age can lead to obesity, and chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease in adolescents and young adulthood.

There are a variety of tactics employed by the food companies and their advertising gurus to ensure products appeal to children. This article explores some of these tactics, the effects of these strategies on children's health and dietary choices, and how parents as leaders of healthy change in their own family and in their larger community can help mitigate the influence of advertising.

    Stats about unhealthy food promotion to children in Australia

    Every day, advertisers bombard Australian kids with numerous promotions for unhealthy food. These promotions come from a variety of sources. Children aged 5 to 8 interact with and see 827 unhealthy food ads on TV per year. When it comes to teenagers, they see about 100 promotions each week, mostly coming from sources online.

    Another major issue is that most food or drink ads near schools, and even on kids’ notebooks, advertise unhealthy products. There was an interesting study conducted in Perth which found that there is an average of 36 food advertisements within 500 metres of the school grounds,. There’s also evidence of there being a higher proportion of unhealthy food advertisements near schools in lower socio-economic areas.

    Unhealthy food advertising on television

    On television, food marketing takes advantage of the vulnerabilities of adolescents and kids. For instance, a five-year-old can’t distinguish the difference between an ad and a TV program. Older children, those with the ability to differentiate between programming and commercials, still lack the experience and cognitive skills to accurately interpret marketing messages. Marketers and advertisers target children as consumers in their own right. These marketers rely on “pester power” to ensure parents succumb to their child’s demands for unhealthy food promotions they saw on TV.

    There are links between commercial television viewing and obesity in children. In part, this is due to it being a sedentary activity, but mostly it’s because kids are constantly bombarded with commercials promoting unhealthy drinks and food, researchers conclude. Not only is brand switching of unhealthy foods in a product category encouraged, but this constant advertising increases the consumption of things like soft drinks and fast food.

    Advertisers target certain times of the day to show these commercials, such as during typical children’s viewing times. They also increase their marketing push during school holidays and on dedicated children’s channels.

    They employ a wide range of strategies that they know will likely appeal to young people and kids. Things like animation and promotional characters, and celebrity endorsements are commonplace in Australian advertising of unhealthy foods. These tactics are more often used when marketing products to children, rather than to adults.

    Marketing of unhealthy foods online

    The internet offers a plethora of marketing opportunities for advertisers, with so many children and adolescents glued to their screens constantly. It’s a veritable playground for promoting unhealthy food choices. Digital media is central to the lives of young people, and those aged 8 to 17 tend to spend more and more time online as they get older. Social media platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are extremely popular with advertisers, as they understand it’s platforms like these where kids like to hang out.

    Taking advantage of known online trends among young people, unhealthy food advertisers target children and teenagers through product placement, advertisements, influencer marketing, branded apps, brand-owned content and more. On social media, brands even encourage users to share their branded posts advertising unhealthy food. This takes full advantage of the power of peer networks.

    For Aussie kids between the ages of 10 and 16, the viewing of food-branded video content on YouTube, as well as seeing their favourite food brands advertised online, were significant contributors to an increase in the consumption of unhealthy drinks and food. Advertisers know that kids and teenagers base their food choices on taste rather than nutritional value, so this is always a major element of any unhealthy food advertisement.

    Other ways advertisers promote unhealthy food to kids

    Online advertising and television are the main mediums of focus when it comes to advertising unhealthy products to kids. However, there are other methods used to get their message across.

    For example, one popular way is product packaging that uses cartoon characters to influence taste perceptions in young children. Kids aged 4 to 6 believe that products depicting a cartoon character taste better than similar food with no character on the packaging. An interesting study found that kids eating and drinking identical pairs of food said the products in McDonald’s branding taste better than the same products with no branding.

    Collectable toys are also a classic way advertisers of unhealthy products get their message out. Begging parents to buy them unhealthy food so they can get the collectable toys is quite prevalent amongst children between the ages of 3 and 5.

    Children’s sports sponsorship is yet another tactic advertisers use to promote unhealthy food to kids. If a fast-food chain sponsors an event or a sporting club, it serves as a constant reminder to go out and buy their unhealthy products. Kids think these sponsors are cool and feel obliged to return the favour by spending money in the sponsor’s establishment.

    Interestingly the two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, through parental and community influence is making small, changes around promoting healthy whole foods i.e. fruits and vegetables.

    An example of this was Coles in 2023 releasing the “DC Super Heroes” collectable campaign to promote higher intake of fresh fruit and vegetables in children, but unfortunately the campaign only lasted less than 12 months and the posters and “DC Super Heroes” collectables are no longer available, even on-line as a digital form.

    Woolworths of course brand themselves as the Fresh Food People. A true long-term commitment from these companies to improve child and family health, rather than always chasing higher profits, needs more community grass-roots action to influence our local, state and federal governments to change policies around TV and online advertising and healthier checkouts.

    What you can do to mitigate the influence of advertising

    Parents and caregivers play a pivotal role in helping children overcome the influence of advertisements and promotions for unhealthy food and drinks. Here are some strategies you can use to mitigate the impact.

    1. Educate your children on media literacy

    One thing you can do is try to educate kids on how advertising works. Explain how advertisers design these ads to make products look more appealing. Emphasise the importance of questioning what they see, whether it’s on TV or online. Help them learn to differentiate between advertising and entertainment.

    2. Limit their screen time

    Limiting a child’s screen time is another strategy you can adopt to help mitigate the effects of unhealthy food marketing, as most of their exposure to these ads will either be on digital platforms or television. You can even utilise ad blockers on internet browsers.

    3. Promote healthy eating in the home

    Prioritise healthy eating at home, to counter the impact of junk food advertising. Stock your pantry and fridge with nutritious fresh whole food-filled snacks, get the kids involved in meal planning and preparation, and encourage balanced eating habits.

    4. Encourage children to think about what they eat

    Encouraging kids to think critically about the foods they see advertised helps them develop scepticism. When ads for unhealthy food come on TV, ask kids if they think that food is healthy or not. Get them to start questioning what they see and to think about the kind of food they eat. You can explain why some foods are marketed aggressively and then suggest healthier alternatives.

    5. Establish clear boundaries

    As a parent you need to establish clear boundaries with kids regarding their food choices, especially regarding processed foods and food containing sugar. Explore Ellyn Satter Institute’s Division of Responsibility in Eating and the Triple P Positive Parenting program to get ideas and tips how to best do this and feel empowered as a proud Parent! Explain your reasons for imposing these limitations and help them to understand the importance of good nutrition, and the consequences of eating a lot of junk food and sugary food. This makes them less susceptible to persuasive ads.

    We help children live a healthy lifestyle

    At Childhood Obesity Prevention, we aim to assist parents and children improve their lifestyles to avoid developing chronic illnesses such as diabetes, and prevent children from becoming overweight. We’re here to help kids live a happy and healthier life.

    Get a copy of our book Ride to Life, and learn what you can do as a family to implement healthy changes. Contact us today for more information or to book an appointment.