Department of Geography, Environment & Spatial Sciences, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA.
Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, Wellington 6242, New Zealand.
Health Promot Int. 2020 Aug 1;35(4):812-820. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daz083.
Reducing children's exposure to unhealthy food advertising is an accepted strategy to end childhood obesity. This study aimed to (i) measure children's space-time exposures to unhealthy food advertising in public outdoor spaces, using GPS and wearable cameras; and (ii) test effectiveness of banning options. We compiled data (collected July 2014-June 2015) on 138 12-year-old children in Wellington, New Zealand, using wearable cameras and GPS devices worn over 4 days. In 2017-18, we linked 59 150 images taken in public outdoor spaces to GPS data. Of these, 1631 contained unhealthy food advertising exposures, defined as ≥50% of an advertisement observed in each image. We examined spatial patterns using kernel density mapping and graphed space-time trends. We interpolated a kriged exposure rate across Wellington to estimate exposure reductions for potential bans. Children were exposed to 7.4 (95% CI 7.0-7.8) unhealthy food advertisements/hour spent in outdoor public spaces. Exposures occurred in shopping centres, residential areas and sports facilities, commonly involving fast food, sugary drinks and ice cream. Peak exposure times were weekend afternoons/evenings and weekdays before/after school. In Wellington, we estimated that banning such advertising within 400 m of playgrounds would yield a 33% reduction in exposure, followed by in residential areas (27%), within 400 m of schools (25%), and 50% for a ban combining all above. This work documents the extent of children's exposure to unhealthy food advertising and the potential impact of bans. Given the ubiquity of advertising in public spaces, this New Zealand research offers innovative methods and findings likely relevant in other jurisdictions.
减少儿童接触不健康食品广告是解决儿童肥胖问题的公认策略。本研究旨在：(i) 使用 GPS 和可穿戴相机测量儿童在公共户外空间的时空暴露于不健康食品广告的情况；(ii) 测试禁令的有效性。我们使用可穿戴相机和 GPS 设备收集了 2014 年 7 月至 2015 年 6 月惠灵顿 138 名 12 岁儿童的数据，这些儿童佩戴设备共 4 天。2017-18 年，我们将在公共户外空间拍摄的 59150 张图像与 GPS 数据联系起来。其中，1631 张图像中含有不健康食品广告曝光，定义为每张图像中观察到的广告的≥50%。我们使用核密度映射和图形时空趋势来检查空间模式。我们在惠灵顿进行了克立格插值，以估计潜在禁令的暴露减少量。儿童在户外公共空间每小时接触 7.4（95%CI 7.0-7.8）个不健康食品广告。暴露发生在购物中心、住宅区和体育设施，通常涉及快餐、含糖饮料和冰淇淋。高峰暴露时间是周末下午/晚上和工作日上学前/后。在惠灵顿，我们估计在距离操场 400 米范围内禁止此类广告将使暴露减少 33%，其次是在住宅区（27%）、距离学校 400 米范围内（25%），以及将上述所有禁令结合起来的禁令将减少 50%。这项工作记录了儿童接触不健康食品广告的程度以及禁令的潜在影响。考虑到广告在公共空间的普遍性，这项新西兰的研究提供了可能在其他司法管辖区相关的创新方法和发现。
