The fat factor: the impact of advertising on kids

The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit special interest group, recently released a report that says tweens see about 20 food advertisements every day. The foundation conducted media research on the viewing habits of kids aged 2-17 and compared that to the content of the advertising on the most popular television networks. The results suggest that while children are not exposed to 3,000 ads each day, there may be a link between television advertising and childhood obesity.

The study tracked shows watched by children ages two to 17 on 13 broadcast
and cable television networks in 2005, analysing the advertisement quantity and
content. Children saw many thousands of food ads a year, most touting
unhealthy products, it found.

• Children ages 8 to 12 viewed the most food ads – on average,
  21 daily and more than 7600 a year totalling nearly 51 hours.
• Those ages 13 to 17 viewed 17 food ads daily and more than 6000 a year totalling nearly 41 hours.
• Children ages two to seven saw 12 food ads daily and 4400 a year totalling
  almost 30 hours. These younger children watched less TV overall and were more
  likely to watch channels with limited or no advertising like PBS and Disney.
• Half of all ad time on children's shows was for food products – a higher
  proportion than for any type of show. About 80 per cent of these were for candy,
  snack foods like chips, sugary cereals, fast food, sodas and other soft drinks.
• The findings were based on a sample of 1638 hours of TV programming that
  included 8854 food ads. Some shows were specifically made for children and
  others not. Of all the ads, none touted fruits or vegetables.