For children aged from as young as 2 to 12, exposure to fast-food advertising is on the rise. The age-targeted marketing was revealed by a Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score (FACTS) study conducted by Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.
The study, which was published this month, emphasizes that marketing targeted toward children comes from a variety of media sources from traditional television and radio ads to Internet and social media sites such as Facebook pages, Youtube ads, and Twitter updates.
Forty percent of children aged 2 to 11 ask their parents to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, 15 percent ask to go daily. According to the FACTS study, 84 percent of parents said they gave into these requests at least once a week.
The report looked at marketing results and nutrition facts from 12 large fast food chains including McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s, and more. The calorie, fat, sodium, and sugar content of more than 3,000 kid’s meal options, which were combinations of more than 2,781 menu items were analyzed.
From this pool of choices, only 12 meal options met the nutritional guidelines set for preschool-aged children. These guidelines, based on the recommendations for limits of calorie and sodium intake by the National School Lunch Program, suggest a maximum of 650 calories per meal for elementary school aged school children and a maximum sodium intake of 636 mg. The 12 meal options meeting these standards came from only two fast-food chains: Subway and Burger King.
The report found that fast-food chains have at least one healthy side dish such as McDonald’s “apple dippers,” Burger King’s apple fries, or Subway’s choice of yogurt. However, the healthy option is rarely offered as the default side dish or as an alternative. Parents have to purchase the item in addition to default sides dish of French fries, which is served with kids’ meals 86 percent of the time or soft drinks, served 55 percent of the time, says the study.
The report found that in 2009, these fast-food restaurants spent $4.2 billion on marketing and preschool-aged children have seen 21 percent more ads than in 2003.
However, some companies such as McDonald’s and Burger King have volunteered to allocate at least half of television advertising to children under 12 to promote healthier dietary options, adhering to standards set by Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative created in 2006 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
According to Rudd Center researchers, though, fast food ads are on the ascent. Children are exposed to brief advertisements during popular television programs like “American Idol” or “Glee.”
“Despite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids,” said Jennifer L. Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center in a statement about the study.
The fast-food industry’s marketing efforts through Internet ads have also increased. According to the report, the top three youth-targeted sites visited by children were McDonald’s HappyMeal.com, McDonald’s McWorld.com, and Burger King’s ClubBK.com, with more than 200,000, 100,000, and 50,000 youth visitors respectively per month.
In fact, McDonald’s has 13 different websites for various age groups including Ronald.com, a site aimed at preschoolers. Researchers assert that marketing toward the preschool audience focuses on developing brand loyalty rather than advertising healthy food choices.
Fast-food restaurants are able to attract teens and younger children with access to social media websites through Facebook pages, which engage readers with photos, videos, and polls. Starbucks, with more than 11.3 million “fans” on their Facebook is currently most popular followed by McDonald’s and Subway.
The report sheds light on San Francisco’s attempt to lessen such marketing toward children by a specific fast-food chain, McDonald’s. The city’s board of supervisors approved legislation two weeks ago that proposes to limit McDonald’s from giving away free toys with meals that contain too much sodium, fat, and calories. Although the city’s mayor vetoed the law, the board’s 8-3 vote may possibly override the veto to require the fast-food chain to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys.
The study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding measures against childhood obesity and Congress’s new menu labeling requirements in the health care reform law.
“There needs to be strong standards for child-targeted marketing by fast-food restaurants that must include a prohibition on marketing directly to preschoolers,” said Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in a statement. “Fast-food restaurants must do more to develop and promote lower-calorie and more nutritious menu items.”
The study, which was published this month, emphasizes that marketing targeted toward children comes from a variety of media sources from traditional television and radio ads to Internet and social media sites such as Facebook pages, Youtube ads, and Twitter updates.
Forty percent of children aged 2 to 11 ask their parents to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, 15 percent ask to go daily. According to the FACTS study, 84 percent of parents said they gave into these requests at least once a week.
The report looked at marketing results and nutrition facts from 12 large fast food chains including McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s, and more. The calorie, fat, sodium, and sugar content of more than 3,000 kid’s meal options, which were combinations of more than 2,781 menu items were analyzed.
From this pool of choices, only 12 meal options met the nutritional guidelines set for preschool-aged children. These guidelines, based on the recommendations for limits of calorie and sodium intake by the National School Lunch Program, suggest a maximum of 650 calories per meal for elementary school aged school children and a maximum sodium intake of 636 mg. The 12 meal options meeting these standards came from only two fast-food chains: Subway and Burger King.
The report found that fast-food chains have at least one healthy side dish such as McDonald’s “apple dippers,” Burger King’s apple fries, or Subway’s choice of yogurt. However, the healthy option is rarely offered as the default side dish or as an alternative. Parents have to purchase the item in addition to default sides dish of French fries, which is served with kids’ meals 86 percent of the time or soft drinks, served 55 percent of the time, says the study.
The report found that in 2009, these fast-food restaurants spent $4.2 billion on marketing and preschool-aged children have seen 21 percent more ads than in 2003.
However, some companies such as McDonald’s and Burger King have volunteered to allocate at least half of television advertising to children under 12 to promote healthier dietary options, adhering to standards set by Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative created in 2006 by the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
According to Rudd Center researchers, though, fast food ads are on the ascent. Children are exposed to brief advertisements during popular television programs like “American Idol” or “Glee.”
“Despite pledges to improve their marketing practices, fast food companies seem to be stepping up their efforts to target kids,” said Jennifer L. Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center in a statement about the study.
The fast-food industry’s marketing efforts through Internet ads have also increased. According to the report, the top three youth-targeted sites visited by children were McDonald’s HappyMeal.com, McDonald’s McWorld.com, and Burger King’s ClubBK.com, with more than 200,000, 100,000, and 50,000 youth visitors respectively per month.
In fact, McDonald’s has 13 different websites for various age groups including Ronald.com, a site aimed at preschoolers. Researchers assert that marketing toward the preschool audience focuses on developing brand loyalty rather than advertising healthy food choices.
Fast-food restaurants are able to attract teens and younger children with access to social media websites through Facebook pages, which engage readers with photos, videos, and polls. Starbucks, with more than 11.3 million “fans” on their Facebook is currently most popular followed by McDonald’s and Subway.
The report sheds light on San Francisco’s attempt to lessen such marketing toward children by a specific fast-food chain, McDonald’s. The city’s board of supervisors approved legislation two weeks ago that proposes to limit McDonald’s from giving away free toys with meals that contain too much sodium, fat, and calories. Although the city’s mayor vetoed the law, the board’s 8-3 vote may possibly override the veto to require the fast-food chain to provide fruits and vegetables with all meals for children that come with toys.
The study contributes to the ongoing debate regarding measures against childhood obesity and Congress’s new menu labeling requirements in the health care reform law.
“There needs to be strong standards for child-targeted marketing by fast-food restaurants that must include a prohibition on marketing directly to preschoolers,” said Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro in a statement. “Fast-food restaurants must do more to develop and promote lower-calorie and more nutritious menu items.”
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