Iranian Television Advertisement and Children’s Food Preferences

International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-78021120161220Iranian Television Advertisement and Children’s Food Preferences17521752ENDepartment of Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, TehranDepartment of Nutrition Research, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, TehranDepartment of Community Nutrition, School of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran20161220Background: In this study, the nature of food commercials in children’s television (TV) was monitored and analyzed; simultaneously, the relationship between recalling TV food commercials and children’s interest in them and in the consumption of the same food products was evaluated.Methods: A total of 108 h children’s programs broadcast on two channels (Two and Amouzesh) of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) media organization were monitored (May 6–12, 2015). Simultaneously, a cross‑sectional study using 403 primary schoolchildren (201 boys) in four schools of Shirvan, Northeast of Iran, was executed. The children were prompted to recall all TV commercials broadcast on IRIB. Meanwhile, they were directed to define in the list of recalled TV food commercials those were interested in and the commercials (food products) they actually were willing to consume.Results: Regarding the frequency and duration of broadcasting, food commercials ranked fifth and sixth, respectively. Fruit leather and plum paste were the most frequently broadcast food commercials. “High quality” (19%), “good taste” (15%), “novelty,” and “message on nutritional composition” (13%) were the most frequent messages used in promoting the sale of food products, respectively. In addition, focus on “high quality/precision in the preparation of the food products” was the most frequently used appeals in TV commercials. There was a significant relationship between recalling TV food commercials and the interest in five out of eight of the commercials (62.5%) (P < 0.05). The relationship between recalling TV food commercials and the interest in the consumption of the same food product (“Tomato paste B”) was statistically significant for 12.5% of the commercials (P < 0.05).Conclusions: TV food commercials do not encourage healthy eating. The current study provides convincing evidence for policy‑makers and researchers to pay more attention to this area.Keywords: Children, commercial, food, televisionhttp://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/1752http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/1752/2042