Content Analysis of Food and Beverages Advertisements Targeting Children and Adults on Television in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Food marketing is one of the main factors in the increase in childhood obesity. The objective is to compare the strategies used for promotion of food and beverages advertisements on Sri Lankan television for children and adults.

Method: Among 16 analog television channels in Sri Lanka, 50% of the channels were selected randomly after stratifying according to language. Recording was during weekdays and weekends. In total, 95 different food and beverages advertisements were analyzed irrespective of the channel.

Results: Among all food and beverages-related advertisements, 78% were child focused, and among these 74% claimed health benefits. A statistically significant difference was found in terms of implications related to nutrition or health (P < .05). None of the advertisements contained disclaimers.

Conclusion and recommendations: The Ministry of Health needs to pursue all food and beverages-focused advertisements for policy formulation and implementation.