A world-first study at University of Wollongong has shone a light on the impact of children exposed to unhealthy food advertisements.
The research, led by PhD student Jenny Norman at UOW’s Early Start and School of Health and Society, has revealed children eat more food after they have watched unhealthy food advertisements.
The study also showed children do not compensate for the junk food by eating less at meal time.
“Our study showed that irrelevant of the child’s sex, age, background or socio-economic status, food advertising has a negative impact on the child’s health,” Ms Norman said.
The study estimated the daily food intake of children increased by almost 50 calories after watching food-related advertisements.
This average coincided with previous studies which confirmed that calorie levels between 50 and 70 in children will lead to future weight problems.
DISCLAIMER: Select images and video footage was collated by Ben Long, UOW Media and Public Relations Coordinator.
