Food and nutrition in Canadian 'prime time' television commercials
Television is, arguably, the most influential mass medium and 'prime time' viewing attracts the largest audiences. To assess the type, number and nutritional content of foods advertised on TV, commercial breaks during 'prime time' (7:00 to 11:00 p.m.) on five Canadian channels (CBC-English, CBC-French, CTV, CFPL, Much Music) were recorded and analyzed. A similar analysis of Saturday morning children's TV commercials was also performed. Commercials for foods Land food products constituted between 24-35% of all commercials, the largest advertising output for any group of products. The combination of food presented in commercials reflected average current consumption patterns. Of special concern was the emphasis on low nutrient beverages, especially beer, as well as snacks and candy on Much Music. While further government intervention to restrict advertising practices may be an impractical option, there is scope for increasing the alternative promotion of healthy dietary choices.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Public Health
- 4206 Public health
- 4202 Epidemiology
- 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy
- 1117 Public Health and Health Services
Citation
Published In
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Public Health
- 4206 Public health
- 4202 Epidemiology
- 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy
- 1117 Public Health and Health Services