Sugar Added Via Screen —Trends and Effects of Cereal Advertising in US Media from 2004 to 2011

INTRODUCTION: Sugar is addictive and has negative effects on health. For children and adolescents, one of the major sources of added sugar is cold/breakfast cereals, which are consumed at least twice a week by 96% of 6 – 11 year olds and by 83 % of 12 – 14 years old. Such consumption may be primed through advertising. This study focused on specifying the trend of advertising for sugary cereals across media platforms, the influence of guidelines on reducing cereal ads targeting children, and the effect of cereal advertising on obesity by cities.

METHODS: Descriptive and regression analysis using industry advertising data and the citywide obesity data, spanning from 2004 to 2011.

RESULTS: First, cereal industries increased their ad investment for 10% since 2004. Second, manufacturers reduced TV commercials for sugary cereals in children’s programming between 2006 and 2011, but they increased such commercials on entertainment, news, and sports programs. Furthermore, Internet has become a fast growing avenue of high-sugar cereals ads since 2007.  In 2011, Among the top-20 mostly advertised cereal products, 11 exceeded the federal guidelines for added sugar, and 19 exceeded the USDA guidelines. Finally, the association between cereal TV ads and obesity rates by cities was negative (r=-.18, p<.05, n=120).

DISCUSSIONS: Children are likely exposed to more cereal ads while watching entertainment and sports programming and while using internet. Cereal companies may be targeting on healthier cities.  It is important to be aware of the limits of industry self-regulation and the extent to which federal guidelines are not being followed.