Dixon Helen G, Scully Maree L, Wakefield Melanie A, White Victoria M, Crawford David A
Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, The Cancer Council Victoria, Australia.
Soc Sci Med. 2007 Oct;65(7):1311-23. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.05.011. Epub 2007 Jun 22.
Television (TV) food advertising has attracted criticism for its potential role in promoting unhealthy dietary practices among children. Content analyses indicate junk food advertising is prevalent on Australian children's TV; healthy eating is rarely promoted. This paper presents (a) a cross-sectional survey examining associations between children's regular TV viewing habits and their food-related attitudes and behaviour; and (b) an experiment assessing the impact of varying combinations of TV advertisements (ads) for unhealthy and healthy foods on children's dietary knowledge, attitudes and intentions. The experimental conditions simulated possible models for regulating food ads on children's TV. Participants were 919 grade five and six students from schools in Melbourne, Australia. The survey showed that heavier TV use and more frequent commercial TV viewing were independently associated with more positive attitudes toward junk food; heavier TV use was also independently associated with higher reported junk food consumption. The experiment found that ads for nutritious foods promote selected positive attitudes and beliefs concerning these foods. Findings are discussed in light of methodological issues in media effects research and their implications for policy and practice. It is concluded that changing the food advertising environment on children's TV to one where nutritious foods are promoted and junk foods are relatively unrepresented would help to normalize and reinforce healthy eating.
电视食品广告因其在促使儿童养成不健康饮食习惯方面的潜在作用而备受批评。内容分析表明，垃圾食品广告在澳大利亚儿童电视节目中很普遍；而健康饮食则很少得到宣传。本文呈现了：（a）一项横断面调查，研究儿童日常看电视习惯与其与食物相关的态度和行为之间的关联；以及（b）一项实验，评估不健康食品和健康食品电视广告的不同组合对儿童饮食知识、态度和意图的影响。实验条件模拟了规范儿童电视食品广告的可能模式。参与者是来自澳大利亚墨尔本学校的919名五年级和六年级学生。调查显示，看电视时间越长、观看商业电视节目越频繁，与对垃圾食品的更积极态度独立相关；看电视时间越长还与报告的垃圾食品消费量越高独立相关。实验发现，营养食品广告能促进对这些食品的某些积极态度和信念。研究结果将根据媒体效果研究中的方法学问题及其对政策和实践的影响进行讨论。得出的结论是，将儿童电视上的食品广告环境转变为宣传营养食品且相对少出现垃圾食品的环境，将有助于使健康饮食常态化并强化健康饮食。
