ABSTRACT
The WHO has called for governments to improve children's food environment by implementing restrictions on the marketing of 'unhealthy' foods to children. Nutrient profiling (NP) models are used to define 'unhealthy' foods and support child-directed food marketing regulations. The aim of the present study was to assess the suitability of the South African NP model (SANPM), developed and validated for health claim regulations, for child-directed food marketing regulations. The SANPM was compared with four NP models specifically developed for such regulations. A representative list of 197 foods was compiled by including all foods advertised on South African free-to-air television channels in 2014 and foods commonly consumed by South African children. The nutritional information of the foods was sourced from food packaging, company websites and a food composition table. Each individual food was classified by each of the five NP models. The percentage of foods that would be allowed according to the different NP models ranged from 6 to 45 %; the models also varied considerably with regard to the type of foods allowed for marketing to children. The majority of the pairwise comparisons between the NP models yielded κ statistics >0·4, indicating a moderate agreement between the models. An almost perfect pairwise agreement (κ=0·948) existed between the SANPM and the UK Food Standards Agency model (United Kingdom Office of Communication nutrient profiling model), a model extensively tested and validated for such regulations. The SANPM is considered appropriate for child-directed food marketing regulations in South Africa.
Subject(s)
Beverages/adverse effects , Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Diet, Healthy , Food/adverse effects , Health Promotion , Marketing/standards , Models, Biological , Adolescent , Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Beverages/analysis , Beverages/classification , Child , Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena/ethnology , Child, Preschool , Diet, Healthy/ethnology , Female , Food/classification , Food/economics , Humans , Male , Nutritive Value , Pediatric Obesity/ethnology , Pediatric Obesity/etiology , Pediatric Obesity/prevention & control , South Africa , Television , World Health OrganizationABSTRACT
Embora haja um forte debate sobre a ética e os efeitos da publicidade veiculada na mídia televisiva, ainda se conhece pouco sobre esses fenômenos em relação ao público infantil. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo investigar o uso de estratégias persuasivas voltadas para o consumo infantil na mídia, com base na literatura científica de influência em psicologia social. A avaliação de 182 peças publicitárias veiculados nos intervalos comerciais de um programa infantil de elevada audiência da televisão aberta, duas semanas antes do Dia das Crianças, revelou como principais táticas dos anunciantes a definição de um critério de decisão pela criança, simular consenso social, contar história e modelagem social. O trabalho discute as implicações dos resultados para a realidade de consumo infantil no Brasil e para o subsídio de intervenções voltadas para a educação e para a promoção do consumo responsável.
Despite a strong debate on the ethics and effects of television advertising, little is known about how these phenomena operate among children as consumers. This research investigated the use of persuasive strategies in advertising to children, based on the psychosocial literature of social influence. An analysis of 182 television advertisements during commercial breaks aired two weeks before Children's Day revealed defining the decision criterion, simmulating social consensus, storytelling, and social modelling as the most frequent tactics used by advertisers. Implications for creating inputs to education in children's consumption in Brazil and the promotion of responsible consumption are discussed.
