Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.
PLoS One. 2023 May 3;18(5):e0284350. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284350. eCollection 2023.
Children are frequently exposed to marketing on food packaging. This study evaluated the presence, type and power of child-appealing marketing and compared the nutritional quality of child-appealing vs. non-child-appealing Canadian packaged foods and examined the relationship between nutrient composition and marketing power.
Child-relevant packaged foods (n = 5,850) were sampled from the Food Label Information Program 2017 database. The presence and power (# of techniques displayed) of child-appealing marketing were identified. Fisher's Exact test compared the proportion of products exceeding Health Canada's nutrient thresholds for advertising restrictions and Mann Whitney U tests compared nutrient composition between products with child- /non-child-appealing packaging. Pearson's correlation analyzed the relationship between nutrient composition and marketing power.
13% (746/5850) of products displayed child-appealing marketing; the techniques used, and the power of the marketing varied ([Formula: see text] 2.2 techniques; range: 0-11). More products with child-appealing packaging than with non-child appealing packaging exceeded Health Canada's thresholds (98% vs. 94%; p < .001). Products with child-appealing packaging (vs. non-child-appealing) were higher in total sugars (median: 14.7 vs. 9 g/RA; p < .001) and free sugars (11.5 vs. 6.2 g/RA; p < .001), but lower in all other nutrients. There was weak overall correlation between marketing power and nutrient levels. Results varied by nutrient and food category.
Unhealthy products with powerful child-appealing marketing displayed on package are prevalent in the food supply. Implementing marketing restrictions that protect children should be a priority.
儿童经常接触食品包装上的营销信息。本研究评估了具有儿童吸引力的营销的存在、类型和力度，并比较了具有儿童吸引力与非儿童吸引力的加拿大包装食品的营养质量，同时考察了营养成分与营销力度之间的关系。
从 2017 年食品标签信息计划数据库中抽取与儿童相关的包装食品（n=5850）。确定具有儿童吸引力的营销的存在和力度（展示的技术数量）。采用 Fisher 确切检验比较超过加拿大卫生部广告限制营养素阈值的产品比例，采用 Mann-Whitney U 检验比较具有儿童/非儿童吸引力包装的产品之间的营养成分。采用 Pearson 相关分析营养成分与营销力度之间的关系。
13%（746/5850）的产品展示了具有儿童吸引力的营销；所使用的技术和营销力度各不相同（[公式：见正文]2.2 种技术；范围：0-11）。具有儿童吸引力包装的产品比具有非儿童吸引力包装的产品更超过加拿大卫生部的阈值（98%比 94%；p<0.001）。具有儿童吸引力包装的产品（与非儿童吸引力包装相比）总糖含量更高（中位数：14.7 比 9 g/RA；p<0.001）和游离糖含量更高（11.5 比 6.2 g/RA；p<0.001），但其他所有营养素含量都较低。营销力度与营养水平之间存在微弱的总体相关性。结果因营养物和食品类别而异。
包装上展示具有强大儿童吸引力的不健康产品在食品供应中很普遍。优先实施保护儿童的营销限制应是当务之急。
