ArticleThe international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity2023
Restricting child-directed ads is effective, but adding a time-based ban is better: evaluating a multi-phase regulation to protect children from unhealthy food marketing on television.
Article in The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Food marketing, eating and health outcomes in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- Alignment of Food Policies and Cardiovascular Disease Burden: Insights from the Literature.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026Review
- Integrating Policies that Enable Minimally Processed Foods with Policies that Restrict Ultra-Processed Foods for Obesity and Noncommunicable Disease Prevention.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Children's diet quality: a mixed methods study on the role of domestic food environments in influencing food access during the COVID-19 lockdown in Chile.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Ultra-processed food consumption in Scotland: a nationally representative analysis of sociodemographic patterns and dietary contributions.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Children still exposed to high rates of unhealthy food advertising in Austria: does self-regulation work?Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Nutrition Label Reading and Understanding, Food Advertising Exposure, and Excess Weight Among Brazilian Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- [Monitoring of sodium content and compliance with national targets for prepackaged foods, Costa Rica, 2015-2022Monitoramento do teor de sódio e conformidade com as metas nacionais para alimentos embalados, Costa Rica, 2015-2022].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2026Article
- Scrutinizing the impact of two self-regulation policies on unhealthy food marketing in children's popular television in Malaysia: a multiple-year repeated evaluation using a harmonized protocol.Global health action · 2025Article
- Impact of food advertising restrictions in Portugal on children's exposure to unhealthy foods and beverages: a before-and-after study.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2025Article
- Using artificial intelligence and computer vision to detect and monitor unhealthy child-directed food and beverage marketing: a data-driven study.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Free, healthy school lunches in New Zealand: A Value for Investment analysis.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Would Reducing Children's Exposure to Food Advertising Prevent Unhealthy Weight Gain?Current obesity reports · 2025Review
- Public support for unhealthy food marketing policies in Australia: A cross-sectional analysis of the International Food Policy Study 2022.Australian and New Zealand journal of public health · 2025Article
- The mismatch between biological needs and the modern food industry.Nature food · 2025Article
- Sharing images of children on social media: British motherhood influencers and the privacy paradox.PloS one · 2025Article
- Association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and childhood overweight and obesity: a cross-sectional study in Beijing, China.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Influencing children: food cues in YouTube content from child and youth influencers.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Children's self-reported exposure to sugary beverage advertisements and association with intake across six countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeat cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Extrinsic goals benefit capitalism but not well-being. Rethinking the economy's goal for a healthier future.Health promotion international · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs childhood obesity rates continue to rise, health organizations have called for regulations that protect children from exposure to unhealthy food marketing. In this study, we evaluate the impact of child-based versus time-based restrictions of "high-in" food and beverage advertising in Chile, which first restricted the placement of "high-in" advertisements (ads) in television attracting children and the use of child-directed content in high-in ads and, second, banned high-in ads from 6am-10pm. "High-in" refers to products above regulation-defined thresholds in energy, saturated fats, sugars, and/or sodium. High-in advertising prevalence and children's exposure to high-in advertising are assessed.
methodsWe analyzed a random stratified sample of advertising from two constructed weeks of television at pre-regulation (2016), after Phase 1 child-based advertising restrictions (2017, 2018), and after the Phase 2 addition of a 6am-10pm high-in advertising ban (2019). High-in ad prevalence in post-regulation years were compared to prior years to assess changes in prevalence. We also analyzed television ratings data for the 4-12 year-old child audience to estimate children's ad exposure.
resultsCompared to pre-regulation, high-in ads decreased after Phase 1 (2017) by 42% across television (41% between 6am-10pm, 44% from 10pm-12am) and 29% in programs attracting children (P < 0.01). High-in ads further decreased after Phase 2, reaching a 64% drop from pre-regulation across television (66% between 6am-10pm, 56% from 10pm-12am) and a 77% drop in programs attracting children (P < 0.01). High-in ads with child-directed ad content also dropped across television in Phase 1 (by 41%) and Phase 2 (by 67%), compared to pre-regulation (P < 0.01). Except for high-in ads from 10pm-12am, decreases in high-in ads between Phase 1 (2018) and Phase 2 were significant (P < 0.01). Children's high-in ad exposure decreased by 57% after Phase 1 and by 73% after Phase 2 (P < 0.001), compared to pre-regulation.
conclusionsChile's regulation most effectively reduced children's exposure to unhealthy food marketing with combined child-based and time-based restrictions. Challenges remain with compliance and limits in the regulation, as high-in ads were not eliminated from television. Yet, having a 6am-10pm ban is clearly critical for maximizing the design and implementation of policies that protect children from unhealthy food marketing.
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