ArticlePublic health nutrition2023
Child-directed marketing on packaged breakfast cereals in South Africa.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Using artificial intelligence and computer vision to detect and monitor unhealthy child-directed food and beverage marketing: a data-driven study.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review of Multifactorial Determinants of Childhood Eating Behaviors: Insights and Interventions Using the Social Ecological Model.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- An assessment of compliance with proposed regulations to restrict on-package marketing of packaged foods to improve nutrition in South Africa.BMC nutrition · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveChildhood obesity is on the rise in South Africa (SA), and child-directed marketing (CDM) is one of the contributing factors to children's unhealthy food choices. This study assessed CDM on packaged breakfast cereals available in SA supermarkets and their nutritional quality.
designPhotographic images were examined in a descriptive quantitative study. A codebook of definitions of CDM was developed for this purpose. REDCap, an online research database, was used for data capturing, and SPSS was used for data analyses including cross-tabulations and one-way ANOVA.
settingThe current study was set in the Western Cape province of SA. SUBJECTS: Photographic images of all packaged breakfast cereals sold in major retailers in the Western Cape province of SA in 2019 were studied.
resultsCDM strategies were classified as direct (to the child) or indirect (through the parent). A total of 222 breakfast cereals were studied, of which 96·9 % had a nutritional or health claim, 95·0 % had illustrations, 75·2 % had product and consumption appeals, 10·8 % had characters, 10·8 % consisted of different appeals, 8·6 % alluded to fantasy and 7·7 % had role models. In breakfast cereals with direct CDM, the protein and fibre content was significantly lower than in breakfast cereals without direct CDM. This study found a significantly higher total carbohydrate and total sugar content in breakfast cereals with direct CDM than those without direct CDM.
conclusionCDM was highly prevalent in breakfast cereals sold in SA. Regulations to curb the marketing of packaged foods high in nutrients of concern is recommended.
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