Not only on television junk or junk food has an important place in advertising spaces. Junk food advertising also dominates children's spaces on the Internet. This follows from a study that has analyzed 28 of the websites that children visit most from the United States.
And although the study is American, it seems clear that its results can be extrapolated to other countries and non-English-speaking websites. The investigation found that most of the publicized food products could be included in a list of "foods to avoid": sugar-laden cereals, candies, soft drinks, fast food ...
In conceto, of the 77 products advertised everywhere, only five were foods that children should eat. In some cases it is not about direct advertising with images, but about brands that act as sponsors.
49 met the criteria of "food to avoid" of the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM), an advisory council of the federal government. Another 23 products fell into a neutral category because they were not junk food or nutritious enough products to encourage consumption, including reduced sugar cereals and certain baked snacks.
Only five publicized products, such as oatmeal, milk and pure fruit juices, were on the list of foods that the IOM encourages children to consume.
The study has been published in the "American Journal of Public Health", and shows that, when measuring the effectiveness of advertisements, the Internet means greater exposure to children and a lower possibility of parental control, since before the computer children are usually alone and Ad lasts longer than 30 seconds of television.
If we take into account that advertising is a key factor in the increase in childhood obesity, with television in front, and followed by the Internet, we realize the need for regulation of the emission of food advertising, especially with all those foods They are not healthy, from sugary drinks to candy. And, television and the Internet give "example" to our children about eating habits, we must try not to be a bad example.
Something that is far away for now, because there are too many advertisements of unhealthy foods in children's programming. Undoubtedly we are facing a complicated task that involves various sectors of society to achieve that little by little junk food advertising does not stand out so much on websites aimed at children.
