Nutritional Quality of Hidden Food and Beverage Advertising Directed to Children: Extent and Nature of Product Placement in Mexican Television Programs

Abstract

Abstract (1) Background: Nutrient-poor, energy-dense food and beverage (FB) advertisements influence children's food preferences, consumption, and purchase requests, contributing to overweight and obesity. Objective: To characterize the nutritional quality of FB advertised by product placement (PP) in Mexican television programs with the highest audience ratings for children. (2) Methods: A total of 48 h of television programs between December 2016 and January 2017 during the hours with the highest ratings for children were analyzed. Nutritional quality was assessed through the Mexican Ministry of Health (MMH-NPM), the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO-Europe), and the Pan American Health Organization nutrient profile models (PAHO-NPM). (3) Results: A total of 119 FB were broadcast, of which more than 60% were unhealthy according to the three nutritional models. Reality shows and movies presented the most PP advertising. The food category most frequently advertised was sugar-sweetened beverages (41.2%). FB advertised in children's programs had a higher content of energy, total fat, and saturated fat (p 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The MMH-NPM was the most permissive and the PAHO-NPM was the strictest for evaluating nutritional quality. Mexico must strengthen the regulation of advertising to protect children from its negative effects on health.