Children's exposure to television advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages across four countries of WHO European Region.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the frequency and healthfulness of foods being advertised to children and adolescents in four countries of WHO European region.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional quantitative study, guided by an adapted version of the WHO protocol. All recorded food advertisements were categorised by categories and as either 'permitted' or 'not permitted' for advertising to children in accordance with WHO Regional Office for Europe Nutrient Profile Model.

SETTINGS

Four countries: Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

PARTICIPANTS

TV channels most popular among children and adolescents.

RESULTS

Analysis included 70 d of TV broadcasting for all channels, during which time there were 28 399 advertisements. The mean number of advertisements per hour varied from eleven in Turkey and Kazakhstan to eight and two in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. In all countries, the majority of the food and beverages advertised should not be permitted for advertising to children according to the WHO Nutrient Profile Model. The mean number of non-permitted food and beverage advertisements per hour was high in Turkey and Kazakhstan (8·8 and 8·5 ads) compared with Russia (5·1) and Kyrgyzstan (1·9). Turkey was the only country where nutritional information was fully available, and no values were missing that prevented coding for some product categories.

CONCLUSIONS

Results revealed that children and adolescents in four countries are exposed to a considerable volume of food and beverage advertisements, including sugary products on broadcast television. As such, policymakers should consider protecting youth by developing regulations to restrict these marketing activities within media popular with children.