Advertising as a determinant of families and children`s food choices

Abstract

The focus of this study is on promoting healthy eating habits and awareness of the influence that advertising has on these choices. Since the second half of the twentieth century, it has been recognized that the eating habits of the entire population have changed. In particular, food includes foods with a higher sugar, fat and salt content. Several factors have influenced this change, among which are the media, the power fast-food type and more sedentary lifestyles. These dietary habits associated with the sedentary lifestyle have caused the increase of the obesity of the children. This problem has received the attention of several entities, among them World Health Organization (WHO). Considering that school plays a fundamental role, helping children to be aware on the marketing and advertising influence, and consequently contributing to the inhibition of harmful eating habits, this study seeks to understand what educational strategies and practices could contribute to the creation of healthier eating habits of children and their families. In this context, the main objective of this study is to understand the influence of the media on the dietary choices of children and their families and to analyse later the impact of educational strategies promoting healthy eating habits in children's awareness. This study was carried out with three groups of children one of the day-care centres with 2 years old, other of preschool education with 5 years old, and another group with children with 6 and 7 years old attending the 1st year primary education. Considering the nature of this study a mixed quantitative and qualitative perspectives were used. The quantitative data were collected from a questionnaire applied to the parents and analysed statistically. Qualitative data were collected using direct and participant observation, field notes recorded in the course of action and children's productions. All these data were submitted to content analysis, to better understand the phenomenon under study. There are several similarities with action research, since it seeks to understand the school and family contexts and implement actions in order to about it, although it does not observe cycles of investigation, because of the short time-horizon in which it was developed. The interpretation was performed through triangulation of the data. The results reveal that there is a set of foods that children's choices but not always that choices are healthy. It is observed that the children are influenced by the media, since, among the most preferred foods appears on media publicity. Another conclusion is that most of the media advertised food are rich in sugar, grease and salt. It turns out that many parents or other caregivers do not recognize such influence, either in themselves or in children. The experiences of learning, the discussion and the reflection have helped children to become more aware of the effects of advertising on their food’s options and on the importance of making the best choices in their diet.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio