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Here's one more reason to curtail the amount of time your kids spend watching television. Children who are exposed to TV ads for high-calorie and nutrient-poor foods consume more unhealthy foods, says a new Rudd Center study, which also states children consume these foods regardless of the specific product and brand being marketed.
"This study provides direct evidence that food marketing to children influences much more than their preferences for one brand over another," says coauthor Jennifer L. Harris, PhD, MBA. "Food marketing also contributes to greater consumption of fast food and sugary beverages, two of the least nutritious product categories commonly advertised to children."
Despite promises by food companies to scale back ads to kids for unhealthy food, a study by the Council of Better Business Bureau's "Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative," says children's television networks show 76 percent more food commercials per hour than other networks, mostly pitching high-fat and high-sugar products.
The most frequent food pitches on children's programs were for cereals (30.9 percent). Cereal ads are nowhere to be found on MTV, where the biggest advertisers are fast food chains (52.6 percent).
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