Original ResearchInfluence of Spanish TV commercials on child obesity
Introduction
The prevalence of obesity in Spain is 14.5%,1 reaching 13.9% among children and youths, which is considered a public health problem.2, 3 The development and maintenance of child obesity is influenced by family background and lifestyle, especially differences in physical activity, nutritional habits and sedentary behaviour, reflected in excessive television viewing.4
In response to the guidelines issued in 2004 by the Global5 Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, in 2005 the Spanish Ministry of Health, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) and the Spanish Federation of Food and Drinks Industries (IFLA), within the NAOS6 Strategy (Strategy for Nutrition, Physical Activity and Prevention of Obesity), signed the Self-Regulation Code on Food Advertising aimed at Children, for the Prevention of Obesity and Promotion of Health (PAOS Code)7, 8 which established the rules governing the development, implementation and broadcasting of food advertisements aimed at children under the age of 12.
This code is a set of 25 rules of Code of Ethics aimed at preventing child obesity. Its target is food advertising. In 2012, the PAOS Code was extended to the area of Internet advertising directed at children under the age of 15. It entered into force on 1 January 2013.
Also, on 31 January 2013, AESAN and the ‘Alimentum’ Foundation (a private non-profit organization formed by IFLA companies) signed a cooperation agreement promoted by the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality and initiated the HAVISA Plan9 (for promoting healthy lifestyles in the Spanish population). This communication campaign consists of the issuing of messages in the form of subtitles to be included in food advertisements for a minimum length of time which would be half the duration of the advertisement. These messages promote healthy eating habits and encourage physical exercise. The communication plan is distributed according to a schedule (for example, May: ‘Walk 30 min a day’ or June: ‘Eat more fruit and vegetables’ …). These messages are included in the advertisements of food companies that belong to the Alimentum Foundation (25 companies, e.g.: Coca-Cola, Kellogg's or Nestlé).
One in five advertising impacts on Spanish television corresponds to a company from the Alimentum Foundation, owing to which a minimum of six impacts on average per person per day is guaranteed. Advertising by these companies represents 16% of that shown on television and 8% of total advertising in Spain.
Similarly, the Self-Regulation Code on Television and Childhood10 is an agreement signed on 9 December 2004 between the Government of Spain and major television channels: TVE, Antena 3, Cuatro, Telecinco, la Sexta and the FORTA (Federation of Regional Radio and Television Networks). Its intention is to protect children from harmful content on television. The document establishes time slots where violent, sexual, drug or occult related content is prohibited. The buffer zone covers from 6.00 to 22.00, and there are spots known as ‘enhanced protection’, namely: Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 9.00 and from 17.00 to 19.00 and Saturdays and Sundays from 9.00 to 12.00.
The United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency (FSA) has set up the Front of Pack Traffic Light signpost labelling11 system that allows an improvement in the nutritional information provided to consumers through colour labels. It is a system that classifies nutrients in foods by colours, following a similar approach to traffic lights. The amounts of sugar, fat, saturated fat and salt considered to be within safe levels are given a green colour, those amounts likely to be at hazardous levels are given an amber colour while those that are hazardous are given a red colour.
The aim of this study was to analyse whether the strategies used in the advertising campaigns on television by food or drink companies breach or bypass the PAOS code standards and what repercussions this may have. Specifically, the objectives were to analyse the messages of television commercials related to food or drinks aimed at children; to analyse other strategies aimed at encouraging the acquisition of these products; and to identify, via the traffic light label, the characteristics of the advertised products and whether, during the time slots of children's enhanced protection, foods with nutritional content susceptible to lead to child obesity are being advertised, comparing the case of children's programmes with more general programming.
Section snippets
Methods
This is a descriptive observational study.
The selection criteria for the sample were the 2012 TV channel ranking,12 the time slots described in the Self-Regulation Code on Television Content and Childhood and the information extracted from the study of child/youth audience of the media in Spain (2007–2008),13 issued by the Association for Media Research (AIMC).
Since State television channels do not broadcast any commercials, the authors decided to view the advertisements on the commercial
Results
A summary of the advertisement viewings with the corresponding message, date, link and comment with its specifications, is presented in Table 2.
The most interesting results are highlighted. Firstly, different ways were found of breaking and avoiding the PAOS Code rules and criteria for defining the messages to children. Strategies that conceal or distort the facts about the advertised products are being used in favour of the advertiser. To be more specific, different advertisements break rules
Discussion
Although the effect of a food on child obesity depends on its composition and whether or not it is consumed by children, it could be understand that advertising may predispose people to consume it.14, 15 Child obesity is determined by social and economic factors pertaining to sectors other than the health system, such as advertising and the food environment.16
Thus, since the advertisements aimed at children promote mostly food products that are excessively high in simple sugars and saturated
Ethical approval
This paper has not been approved by any ethic committee. The authors analyse documents.
Funding
None declared.
Competing interests
None declared.
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