Food advertising and promotion of healthy habits in childhood and youth

Abstract

Overweight and obesity, resulting from the absence of healthy diet and lack of physical activity, are a risk factor for numerous chronic diseases, and, also, affect socialization, psychological well-being and people's quality of life. For authorities, counteracting this public health problem has become a primary objective at global, regional and national levels, especially in childhood and youth. One of the aspects that generates the most consensus in the proposal of measures aimed at reducing the consumption of unhealthy foods by these authorities is action in the field of marketing and advertising, considered as a conditioning element for the promotion and maintenance of bad eating habits among child and youth population. This article presents the main results of a research focused on the analysis of a sample of commercial communications of food consumed by children and adolescents and their families disseminated both by different media and through influencers, which corroborates the predominance of advertising and promotional messages referring to unhealthy foods, as well as the paradoxical use of health arguments by companies and the role played by prescribers in attracting consumers and buyers to these offers.