Advertising Food of Television and Food Value: Implications for Children Obesity

The present article aims to shed lights on quantitative qualities of advertising food stuff on television and explain the advertising attractions and themes used in the advertisement which persuade the audience, particularly children and teenagers, to buy and consume the advertised products. Using thematic content analysis, some 308 ads presented between 16 to 23 (Channel one, Two, Three and Five) were selected through purposeful sampling. The selected ads were analyzed and the types of advertised foods and the variables affecting children and teenagers’ nutritious behavior were identified. Findings indicate that 6% of the advertised ads were diary foods, 4.2% were starch-related foods and 10.7% were items without nutritious value. Thematic analysis of the data shows that the implied themes in the ads promoting valueless food are: competition for eating and promoting single-eating; exaggeration in terms of being energy-generating; and changing emotional conditions.