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By how much would limiting TV food advertising reduce childhood obesity?
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: There is evidence suggesting that food advertising causes childhood obesity. The strength of this effect is unclear. To inform decisions on whether to restrict advertising opportunities, we estimate how much of the childhood obesity prevalence is attributable to food advertising on television (TV). METHODS: We constructed a mathematical simulation model to estimate the potential effects of reducing the exposure of 6- to 12-year-old US children to TV advertising for food on the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Model input was based on body measurements from NHANES 2003-04, the CDC-2000 cut-offs for weight categories, and literature that relates advertising to consumption levels and consumption to body mass. In an additional analysis we use a Delphi study to obtain experts' estimates of the effect of advertising on consumption. RESULTS: Based on literature findings, the model predicts that reducing the exposure to zero would decrease the average BMI by 0.38 kg/m(-2) and lower the prevalence of obesity from 17.8 to 15.2% (95% uncertainty interval 14.8-15.6) for boys and from 15.9% to 13.5% (13.1-13.8) for girls. When estimates are based on expert opinion, these values are 11.0% (7.7-14.0) and 9.9% (7.2-12.4), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that from one in seven up to one in three obese children in the USA might not have been obese in the absence of advertising for unhealthy food on TV. Limiting the exposure of children to marketing of energy-dense food could be part of a broader effort to make children's diets healthier.
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“Similarly, in an analysis using 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and evidence for relation of television advertising to dietary consumption, it was estimated that eliminating television food advertisements to children 6 to 12 years of age would reduce the prevalence of obesity by 14.6%.”
From Population Approaches to Improve Diet, Physical Activity, and Smoking Habits: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (2012) · cites this paper as [393]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Veerman, J. L., Van Beeck, E. F., Barendregt, J. J., & Mackenbach, J. P.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
- ORCID
- Mackenbach, J. P.
- Venue
- The European Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-03-26
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 365-369
- ISSN
- 1101-1262 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-360X
- PMC
- PMC2712920
- OpenAlex
- W2148677460
- Cited by
- 179
- References
- 35
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 19 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 16.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- European Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Health and Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- childhood obesity, television food advertising, advertising restrictions, overweight prevalence, body mass index, energy-dense foods, food marketing exposure, children's diet, obesity prevention, mathematical simulation model
- MeSH terms
- Advertising, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Nutrition Surveys, Obesity, Models, Statistical, Body Mass Index, Food Industry
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