Junk food, soft drinks and sweets - assessing the marketing effects on 3-13 year old children in India

Abstract: Background: In the light of the ongoing epidemic of childhood obesity and chronic diseases globally, marketing of energy dense foods and drinks towards children has been recognized as an important health risk. The aim of this study was to examine the effects and extent of exposure to marketing of such diets among 3 to 13 year old Indian children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. As an indicator for marketing exposure children's ability to recognize brand logos for high sugar high fat products was used. Correlations between logo recognition and children's food related behavior and Body Mass Index were also examined.Methods: 306 child-parent pairs were recruited at a pediatric clinic in southeastern India. A test including 18 brand logos assessed the children's brand logo recognition ability. Information about the children's food preferences, nutritional knowledge, weight and height was obtained. A parental questionnaire collected information on children's socioeconomic characteristics, eating and pestering (influencing of parents' purchase decisions) behaviors.Results: The children from all socioeconomic groups demonstrated high rates of recognition - up to 80% - for many logos. Recognition rates increased with age and socioeconomic level. Poor dietary practices and frequent pestering behaviors in purchase situations were reported. Relationships were not found between logo recognition and food preferences, nutritional knowledge and pestering behavior. Logo recognition level was associated with higher BMI. Conclusions: Correlation between brand logo recognition and BMI, the frequent pestering behavior and poor dietary habits of the children and the generally high brand awareness in all age and socioeconomic groups implicate problematic aspects of marketing towards children in India. The findings could contribute to the debate on the role of food marketing with respect to the increasing rates of child obesity and chronic diseases in the country.