PROJECT REPORT ON

INFLUENCE OF ADVERTISEMENT ON

FOOD HABITS OF CHILDREN IN MOGA CITY

Submitted to

Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar

In partial fulfillment of requirement of 2 years MBA Degree

Session:2009-11

Submitted by: Submitted to :

Ankush Kaura Ms. Pavitterjit Kaur

Sidhu

Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engg. & Tech.

Moga.

ABSTRACT

Television and advertising together present a lethal combination and has become an

integral part of modern society .It is the most convenient route to reach not only adult consumers

but also the adolescents. Adolescents are manipulated by advertisement promise that the product

will do something special for them which will transform their life. The present study was

conducted on 100 adolescent to know the impact of T.V. advertisement on their buying pattern.

The results revealed that advertisements played a vital role in introducing a new product in the

family list & making better choice during shopping. Majority of the respondents after watching

an advertisement wanted to buy the new brand introduced in the market, they were disappointed

when they were not allowed to buy products of their choice and were of the opinion that T.V.

advertisements helped them to make better choice during shopping. The children utilized their

pocket money received every month for shopping.

The main items purchased from the pocket money were- food, cosmetics, gifts and cards.

They mostly went to shopping with parents .The children planned their shopping after discussion

with family members. In purchase of food items, stationary, cosmetics and toiletries, children

were influenced by T.V. advertisements. In case of clothing they were guided by fashion, friends

and boutiques. The respondents preferred to buy branded and standardized products which are

more advertised on Television.

BACKGROUND

Children's eating habits and their food consumption have direct relations with obesity, diabetes,

cancers, hypertension and coronary heart disease. Television advertisements directly affect

children's eating habits and their food consumption. This study was conducted in order to

examine television advertisements and children's food consumption while watching television

and their desire to purchase goods that they see on television advertisements.

METHODS

In the first stage of the study, content analysis of the television advertisements was conducted. In

the second stage of the study, a questionnaire (check list) was developed in order to examine

children's food consumption while watching television and their purchasing requests while

shopping in the supermarket.

RESULTS

When the results of the study were examined it was found that the time devoted to children's

programs was approximately 121 min and the advertisements during this period were

approximately 35 min. A total of 344 of the 775 television advertisements shown were related to

food. It was also found that most of the food advertisements were about candy/chocolate, chips,

milk and milk products such as cheese, yoghurt, and breakfast cereals. The results also revealed

that 89.6% of the children either drank or ate something while watching television and the food

they consumed most while watching television were fruits, soft drinks, popcorn/nuts, cake, chips

and candy/chocolate. The results also revealed that 40.3% of the children asked their parents to

purchase the goods that they saw on the television advertisements and that 8.9% of them argued

with their parents and/or cried in order for their parents to buy that particular product. It was

found that the children tended to request more sweetened products such as candy, ice-cream,

biscuit, cake or soft drinks.

CONCLUSION

More than half of the foods presented in television advertisements were rich in fat and sugar.

Children ask their parents to buy the goods they see on television advertisements both while

watching television and while shopping. Television advertisements especially affect young

children's unhealthy food consumption.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am thankful to management of ICICI prudential life insurance company limited for

granting the permissions, corporation and valuable information for preparation of this project.

No words are enough to thank Mr.Raman Chada who not only inspired me to work on this

project but also guide me to prepare it. In spite of heavy responsibilities and busy schedule, he

always managed time to provide proper guidance.

I also thankful to Mr R.K. Maheshwary, who guide, encourage and help me to do this project.

Last but not the least; I would like to say that all my friends and well-wishers for giving

me constant support and valuable suggestions to translate my ideas into reality

DECLARATION

I,Gurleen Kaur student of KIMT. Hereby I declare that the project

titled “RECRUITMENT OF FINANCIAL ADVISIORS” is a bonafide work and is neither

submitted to Punjab Technical College at any point of time nor to any other university or

institution for fulfillment of the course of study.

Gurleen Kaur

TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract

Acknowledgement

Declaration

Chapter-1

Company Profile

Chapter-2

Introduction to topic

Review of literature

Chapter-3

Objectives

Research Methodology

Limitations

Chapter-4

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Findings

Chapter-5

Recommendations

Conclusion

Annexure

Bibliography

Glossary

INTRODUCTION TO TOPIC

Everyday our children come under an increasing exposure to television commercials and

with the growing use of animation techniques. These advertisements are posing attractive to

children. How do children process the advertised message, what do they do with it and to what

extent they are influenced by what they see and hear? All these questions have become the

subject of my research.

            The degree of impact of advertising on adults may be problematic but the outcome is

devastating for children. Advertising comes in different forms such as television, print, radio and

Internet. So using such various communicating devices how the products are advertised to the

so-called new segment in the market. Advertisers of children television used to appeal to the

parents earlier but now they appeal directly to children who do not have the emotional or

cognitive tools to evaluate what's being sold to them. Television is no more just a source of

entertainment for children. Some countries have decided that the evidence of advertisings

influence on children is strong enough to take legislative action.

For example, Sweden has imposed a ban on all advertising to children under 12 years old and

Greece has regulated the content of children television advertising.

The attention spans of very young children participating these young that the age of two and half

year is quiet common. The child rarely facing oriented towards the television set, younger

children tend to pay more attention throughout them. Something of attention inertia-compared

with older children. Older children attention with in series of commercial. Presented in block

tended to drop toward the end. For all children full attention to commercial is highest for all the

advertisement shown at the beginning of programmes and for children, the auditing full of

commercial is often more powerful than the visual.

            The accustomed viewing style has its impact on attention. For example viewing while

sleeping on bed, sitting on the floor, at the dining table, when doing home work, eating, reading

comics or in the presence of friends could results in reduce attention to commercial.

Effect of Television on Children

  “Promise lay promise is soul of advertisement.

             At an early age children becomes attracted to television, the medium most capable of

portraying life styles, value and social patterns to us. Indeed many of today's children cannot

avoid the clutches as television programming. One investigator estimates that during the

elementary school years children watch television none that of any other time in their lives

averaging 20-25 viewers hours per week. Because the vast amount of time that are spent in front

of television set, many feel that children are drawn away from the other activities such as playing

with other youngster's or practicing motor skill.

But in recent years advertising plays an important role in children's life. We note that

children see a lot of advertisement but they rarely buy an item is a question. Seeing an actor or

actress practicing to use a special brand of food can marginally encourage someone. Even if they

do not get the suitable brand they tried to stick to the brand.

The influence of the media on the psychosocial development of children profound, it is

important for the parents to know their child's exposure to media and provide guidance on age-

appropriate use of all media including television, radio, music, video games and Internet. The

objective of the report is to explore both the beneficial and harmful effects of media on children's

mental and physical health and to identify how the advertising industry can be regulated by

formulating unified laws to prevent the over-exposure of children to the advertising world.

About Fast Food

Human tastes and preferences keep on changing with the passage of time. This fact of

consumer behavior is evident in every sphere of consumables and fast food sector is not an

exception. As the society has undergone many transitions the tastes and preferences of

consumers and their eating habits have also undergone a dramatic change. Gone are the days

when eating at home and cooking was considered to be passion. Today people are more

comfortable with eating out ready to eat products. A lot of credit for this can be attributed to

various basic changes in the basic structure of society. Some of these are:-

1. Increasing number of working women which has caused office work taking one kitchen

work.

2. Nuclear families - Less number of family members, so eating out is not a problem.

3. High disposable income that has caused people to spend more and try out new things.

4. Last but not the least the increasing influence of western culture, which has resulted in

people going for a Mc Donald Burger instead of piranhas.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The influence of advertising on our lives, for both children and adults, has changed over the

years. In the early days, advertising for toys and other products for children was primarily

targeted toward parents and their message was direct. Today however, things have changed.

Marketing messages are more sophisticated, more pervasive, and are aimed directly at "hooking"

kids at a very early age.

The Prevalence of Advertising in Our Children's Lives

There have always been advertisers who market to children. Clearly products such as toys and

sugary cereals have been around since before our grandparents were small. Just as today, those

who made such products developed ad campaigns to promote them to an interested audience.

Many years ago however, it was a bit easier to recognize what was an advertisement and what

wasn't. Advertisements were limited to displays in a store, a newspaper ad, or a brief spot on TV

or radio.

Some merchandising was creeping in during the 60's with Beatles lunchboxes and similar items.

Today however, half of the clothing that kids wear include an advertisement of one sort or

another. Backpack, shoes, and many accessory items also display the most popular brands for a

child's peers to see. The influence of advertising is increasingly far reaching.

Today, ads are much more pervasive and less recognizable as a sales pitch. For instance, while

eating at a favorite child oriented fast food restaurant, a child may receive a toy. That toy may

also be tied to a movie, a cartoon, a video game, or to a website that offers additional games,

toys, and related products. Books, clothing, accessory items, backpacks, cell phones, scooters

and more are all tied to the same theme. There are a seemingly limitless number of products that

are then presented to the child.

These ads for children, just as those targeted toward adults, create a need where none existed

previously. They also hook children, and subsequently their parents, into an endless loop of

buying more and more products.

Advertising is no longer limited to store displays, radio and TV commercials, and newspaper

ads. Some children literature is developed for the primary purpose of marketing. Movies,

cartoons, video games and more are also developed for the purpose of marketing additional

products. Some schools even allow advertising on books, educational posters, on the sides of

buses, and more. This Media wise page discusses some of the current practices in schools.

As we are bombarded with ads from every direction, even as adults these games, movies,

children's meals, websites etc. are seldom recognized as the mere marketing methods that they

are. With increased prevalence and subtlety, the influence of advertising has grown enormously.

Junk food addiction among city's children is gaining

alarming proportions, a fact corroborated by a random

survey across city schools.

Worst of all, the school authorities, instead of helping the

children come out of the addiction, are further

compounding it by making various kinds of fast foods

available to them through school canteens and cafeterias.

While in school, it is the responsibility of the authorities to

take care of the students' health, it is funny and also weird that our schools do not really practice

what they preach. On one hand, they teach their students to keep away from junk food, while on

the other; they lure the unsuspecting children to eat unhealthy, non-nutritious, good-for-nothing

junk in their school canteens.

Pop-corn, chips, carbonated drinks, biscuits, noodles, burgers, pao-bhaji, sandwiches, hot dogs,

patties, pastries, muffins, toast, kulcha-chana, samosa, chocolates, Maggi, confectioneries; you

name it and you will have it!

Students munching on junk food

at a school in Moga. A Tribune

photograph.

These high-fat, high-sugar or high-calorie “competitive” foods are also sold outside the school

campuses across the city by small-time vendors with no policy to keep a check on them.

While some of the school canteens are run by the school committees, many are run by school

management and others are tendered out to private companies or individuals.

All these canteens sell things which are on demand so that they can get maximum return,

especially those who are tendered out to be operated by private individuals.

The practice of allowing the sale of fast food on the school premises is weird on part of school

heads in the face of the fact that these very school authorities have been preaching against the

consumption of the "oh-so-harmful" junk food. This they have been doing through numerous

seminars, counseling sessions for students as well as their parents, workshops, lectures and

stringent directions to parents on Tiffin menu for students.

 

Why is it dangerous?

Junk food is made using a lot of saturated fats. Such fats are unhealthy and on digestion

can release a lot of toxins into the body. The body gets food but not healthy food.

Junk food does not contain vitamins and minerals and much of the nutrients seen in

properly cooked food and in raw food. The body is not getting the necessary vitamins

and minerals necessary to have good health and immunity from diseases.

What can be done?

Carbonated drinks and other unhealthy foods should be strictly removed from all school

canteens

Alternatives are: fruits like apples, mangoes, pineapples, guava, banana, watermelon,

musk melon, etc.

For drinks, canteens can sell: coconut water, fresh lemon/lime juice, fresh juices like

pineapple juice, mixed juice, orange juice and milk shakes like mango and banana,

strawberry and chocolate shake.

 

Docspeak

Dr Molly Joshi, diet consultant lists the following as ill-effects of regular intake of junk food by

children:

Lack of energy

Poor concentration

Obesity leading to inferiority complex and many times even depression

Heart diseases

High cholesterol

Stunted growth

Diabetes

Premature aging

Tooth decay

 School kids fancy junk food

Sheetal Chawla

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 23

School-going children love to carry junk food in their tiffin. Noodles, pizzas, burgers, potato

chips etc seems to be their hot favourite. Nitika, a lecturer, says that her son studying in LKG,

enjoys burgers and pizza as she herself is fond of fast food. Although she gives Indian food to

her son in the tiffin, but feels that it’s difficult to stop children from eating junk food. If parents

are strict only then they can check the eating habits of the children, she added. Hargunjot Kaur,

another college lecturer, said her school-going son was so fond of junk food that they had to take

him out on every weekend. One of the parents said that all these junk food items were served in

the school canteens and the owners make rich profits out of fast food, as they know that it’s the

weakness of the younger generation. Amanjot, a lecturer in engineering college, has a different

tale to tell. Her son loves to eat homemade food while they have moderate tastes for fast food.

One of the school principals told The Tribune that parents grumble over fee hike. But they don’t

mind spending Rs 400 to 500 on pizzas for their children. Dr HS Bains, professor and head

pediatrics department, Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, said parents were responsible for

the wrong eating habits of the children. Children suffer from several diseases after consuming

junk food. It leads to vitamin and protein deficiency and causes number of infectious diseases

like typhoid, hepatitis, and diarrhea.

EXCEPTIONS

Shivalik Model School

There is no canteen on the school premises.

“We are strictly against junk food, in word as in principle that is why we don’t have

a canteen in the school. Only milk and juices are available on the campus for the

students as refreshments. Strict menu for tiffi`n is specified for all classes based on

the nutritive value of various food items and is mentioned in the students’ handbook.

This menu had been decided in consultation with an expert dietician. Besides, we

also hold workshops and lectures by experts on the importance of healthy diet.

Col. DB Sharma

Dr. Hedgewar Public School

There is no canteen in the school, nor is any street food seller allowed to stand outside the

premises.

“We are very strict as far as students’ health is concerned. We have a dietary plan

for students of all classes which comprises wholesome, healthy, home-made food,

replete with green vegetables, pulses and cereals. Pickles, spicy and oily foods are

banned. Class teachers have their food with the students to ensure compliance with

the diet chart as well as to check that students finish their food. Besides, we do not

even allow our students to carry money to the school. We also organise workshops on healthy

food habits for students.”

RS Patial

 

Green Field Sen. Sec. School

The school has a well-stocked canteen where soft drinks and other fast foods,

including oily and fried foods, are readily available.

"It is practically impossible to keep the children away from fast foods. We do sell colas and

other fast foods in our school canteens but I have strictly directed the canteen operator to reduce

the MSG content of these so as to ensure minimum ill-effects on the children's health."

— Rajeev Nagalia

Navyug Shishu Mandir

The school has a big canteen selling a variety of fast foods to students, including

noodles, manchurian, patties, chips, soft-drinks, pizzas and sandwiches.

“Our school canteen sells junk to students but I have not been able to curb the

practice since I joined the school last year only. But, we are soon planning to have a “thali

system” in the canteen wherein students will be served proper lunch along with lassi and

flavoured milk.”

— Gurmant Kaur Gill

Green Land Sen. Sec. School

The school canteen sells all soft-drinks, including colas, burgers, chips, sandwiches,

biscuits to students.

"We have banned carbonated drinks Pepsi and Coke in the school canteen, only

Limca is available. We also have flavoured milk and packed juices, but students

prefer aerated drinks more than these.

We do have chips, sandwiches, and other such items in the school canteen because if we don't

allow them, the students rush to the eating joint right next to the school and buy junk from there.

— Baldeep Pander

Sacred Heart Sen. Sec. School

The school has a canteen which provides soft drinks, noodles, patties, chips to students, which

too, at subsidized rates. Interestingly, Ludhiana Tribune saw two ice-cream vendors coming out

of the school after the lunch hour. The vendors confirmed that they were regular at the school

during the lunch break. Ice-cream, though not exactly considered junk, is said to have harmful

effects on health due to high cream and sugar contents.

The school authorities simply refused to comment on the issue.

Blooming Buds Sen. Sec. School

The school canteen is quite big and stocks soft drinks, patties, samosas, noodles, manchurian,

chips, burgers and has a pop-corn vending machine as well. The students were being served

these junk foods, though at a higher rate than prevalent in the market.

School heads refused to comment

 

PARENT SPEAK

“Education has become a trade and the authorities are least bothered about the

students’ welfare. They want to mint money even if it means playing with the

children’s health, hence the junk-selling canteens.”

— Amarjeet Singh

“A school can shape a child’s personality and influence his habits, including what

he eats. But today, we see schools themselves selling unhealthy food to children,

which is quite unfortunate.

All claims of various school authorities on efforts to curb the junk food addiction

among kids are nothing but a farce, in fact it is sheer hypocrisy.”

— Anupam Kumria

“Schools should not be allowed to have canteens because if tempting but unhealthy

food is readily available, why would the child eat his regular parantha-cheese?

Parents cannot succeed in their fight against the junk food menace unless the

schools support them enough.”

— Vikas Sh

Television commercials are influencing children’s eating habits. According to a recent study, at

least 54% Indian children watching commercials opted to buy fast food. Ironically, despite

knowing that this habit could lead to problems such as obesity and early onset of diabetes,

neither the children were ready to change their habits, nor were their parents effectively

intervening to curb it which automatically results into higher consumption of junk food. About

54% children said they preferred to buy foods shown on commercials and 48% of children

simply refused to cut down their intake of colas/sweetened juices. While 41% children said they

were willing to restrict watching TV to half-an-hour a day, 59% children said they would

continue to buy fast food shown in commercials.

“Junk food ads have profound effect on children’s eating habits and development of obesity and

related diseases. In India, fast food ads are frequently displayed during prime time without any

legal or official regulation. In our study, we found that children are not willing to change this

practice and parents are not effectively intervening in curbing these habits,” Dr Anoop Misra, the

head of diabetes and metabolic diseases department in Delhi’s Fortis Hospital, who led this

study, said.

American researchers found that between 2003 and 2007, children’s exposure to fast food

commercials increased. There was a 4.7% increase in viewings among children between the age

group of 2-5 years, 12.2% increase among children between 6-11 years and 20.4% increase

among those between 12-17 years. The high prevalence of these commercials suggested the

importance of branding, the authors noted. “Indeed, children have been found to recognise brand

logos at very young ages and a recent study found that preschoolers exhibited significantly

higher preferences for food and beverage items in branded vs plain packaging,” the American

researchers said.

Impact

The impact of television is vital because of its enormous potential as an audio-visual

communicator. Television (T.V.) enables the creative man to communicate by combining

motion, sounds, words, color, personality and stage setting to express and demonstrate ideas to

large and widely distributed audience. T.V. advertisements usually play a role in either

introducing a product reinforcing the familiarity to the product and also convincing to purchase

the product. Advertisements are among the most visible of the marketing strategy and have been

the subject of a great deal of attention in the last ten to fifteen years. Advertisement cannot only

change emotions but give subliminal message. Advertising today seems to be everywhere and

ever present exerting a far reaching influence on the daily lives of people. Advertisements

develop self-concepts in order to induce purchase decisions. Television advertising employs

attention grabbing trick such as catchy and pleasing music, lyrics, Jingles, humor and repeated

messages. The impact of the advertisements is more on television than the print media or radio.

The impact of television advertisement on social behavior, including purchasing behavior was

the greatest. The reason being that television has charm, instantaneous transmission capability

and universality of appeal. Mahajan and Singh (1997) studied the impact of media on lifestyle of

adolescents and found that media especially television and satellite channels certainly affected

the lifestyle of individuals. They tend to buy the product advertised by media, irrespective of its

cost. The way of presentation mattered in case of food items whereas in case of clothing,

designer label mattered. Kaur and Kaur (2002) explored fashion awareness among rural and

urban adolescents. The study was conducted in three villages and three localities of Ludhiana

city (Punjab). A sample comprising 100 rural and 100 urban adolescents were selected

purposively and interview schedule method was employed. They observed that Television was

the most important media of information regarding fashion awareness among rural and urban

respondents while friends were the next important source of information for these respondents.

Boutiques were the major source of information for urban adolescents. It was also evidenced that

income and society were the main factors affecting the clothing Television advertising can have

a powerful influence on adolescents, food preferences, consumption and behavior. ‘Advertising

seen is measured by looking at ‘impacts.’ Impacts provide a measure of advertising exposure.

One impact is equivalent to one member of the target audience viewing one commercial spot.

Around one in five of all of the T.V. advertisement seen by adolescents is for a core category

product. Having realized the stupendous effect T.V. advertising has not only on the purchasing

pattern but also on the total lifestyle of adolescents a need was felt to study the impact of T.V.

advertisements on the buying pattern of the adolescent girls in Jammu City

Influence Short Term Dietary Habits Of Kids

A new study has disclosed that advertisements on television seem to influence temporary eating

habits of kids aged 2 to 11 years.In the year 2006, 10 major US food companies pledged to

devote at least half of their child-oriented ads to promoting good nutrition and healthy lifestyles

under the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative.By 2009, six more companies had

signed on.Study authors from the Institute of Medicine stated, "Given that each company defined

their own better-for-you products... key questions remain."To evaluate trends in food

advertisements before and after the scheme, Lisa M. Powell at the University of Illinois at

Chicago analyzed TV ratings data from the Nielsen Media Research for 2003, 2005 and

2007.Between 2003 and 2007, daily average exposure to televised food advertisements came

down by 13.7% among kids aged 2 to 5 and 3.7% among kids aged 6 to 11, but surged 3.7%

among teenagers aged 12 to 17.Advertisements for sweets became less frequent, with a 41

percent decrease in exposure for two to five-year-olds, 29.3 percent for 6- to 11-year-olds and

12.1 percent for 12- to 17-year-olds.But, exposure to fast-food ads increased between 2003 and

2007, with a 4.7% increase in viewing among kids age 2-5, 12.2% among kids 6 to 11 and 20.4%

among teenagers aged between 12 to 17.The findings will appear in the September print issue of

Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. (With Inputs from Agencies)

Impact and Influence

Marketing strategies directly impact food purchasing and eating habits. For example, in the late

1970s scientists announced a possible link between eating a high-fiber diet and a reduced risk of

cancer . However, consumers did not immediately increase their consumption of high-fiber

cereals. But in 1984 advertisements claiming a relationship between high-fiber diets and

protection against cancer appeared, and by 1987 approximately 2 million households had begun

eating high-fiber cereal. Since then, other health claims, supported by scientific studies, have

influenced consumers to decrease consumption of foods high in saturated fat and to increase

consumption of fruits, vegetables, skim milk, poultry, and fish. Of course, not all marketing

campaigns are based on scientific studies, and not all health claims are truthful. In July 2000 a

panel of experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture supported complaints made by the

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine that the "Got Milk" advertisements contained

untruthful health claims that suggested that milk consumption improved sports performance,

since these claims lacked scientific support. In addition, the panel agreed with the physicians'

claim that whole milk consumption may actually increase the risk of heart disease and prostate

cancer, and recommended that this information be included in advertisements.

Companies often use characters to appeal to young consumers. Ronald McDonald first appeared

on T.V. in 1963, portrayed by Willard Scott. The clown is known worldwide, and according to

McDonald's, is the most recognizable figure next to Santa Claus.

The tremendous spending power and influence of children on parental purchases has attracted

marketers, and, as a result, marketing strategies aimed at children and adolescents have

increased. Currently, about one-fourth of all television commercials are related to food, and

approximately one-half of these are selling snacks and other foods low in nutritional value. Many

of the commercials aimed at children and adolescents use catchy music, jingles, humor, and

well-known characters to promote products. The impact of these strategies is illustrated by

studies showing that when a majority of television commercials that children view are for high-

sugar foods, they are more likely to choose unhealthful foods over nutritious alternatives, and

vice versa.

Inappropriate Advertisements

Attempts to sell large quantities of products sometimes cause advertisers to make claims that are

not entirely factual. For instance, an advertisement for a particular brand of bread claimed the

bread had fewer calories per slice than its competitors. What the advertisement did not say was

that the bread was sliced much thinner than other brands.

Deceptive advertising has also been employed to persuade women to change their infant feeding

practices. Advertisers commonly urge mothers to use infant formula to supplement breast milk.

Marketing strategies include

One strategy used by advertisers is to feature a celebrity in their advertisements or on their

packaging. The implicit message is that the celebrity endorses the product, uses the product, and

may even depend on the product for success.

[AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.]

giving women trial packs or coupons for several months of free formula. Often, women are not

aware that supplementing breast milk with formula will reduce or stop their milk supply. When

the samples and coupons are no longer available, women may try to "stretch" the formula by

mixing it with water, unaware that diluting the formula places their infant at risk for

malnutrition . Many groups have objected to the use of marketing strategies that include free

formula and coupons, and infant-formula manufacturing companies have been forced to modify

their marketing practices.

Other marketing strategies involve labeling foods as "light," meaning that one serving contains

about 50 percent less fat than the original version (or one-third fewer calories). For example, a

serving of light ice cream contains 50 percent less fat than a serving of regular ice cream. As a

result, consumers mistakenly believe that eating light food means eating healthful food.

However, they fail to realize that a serving of the light version of a food such as ice cream can

still contain more fat and sugar than is desirable.

Food labels with conflicting information often confront consumers. For example, labels claiming

"no fat" do not necessarily mean zero grams of fat. Food labeling standards define low-fat foods

as those containing less than 0.5 gram of fat per serving. Therefore, consuming several servings

may mean consuming one or two grams of fat, and people are often unaware of what amount of a

food constitutes a "serving." In addition, foods low in fat may be high in sugar, adding additional

calories to one's daily caloric intake. Too often, consumers mistakenly translate a claim of "no

fat" into one of "no calories."

Other examples of conflicting claims include labels advertising foods as "high in fiber," without

specifically indicating the presence of high levels of salt, sugar, or other nutrients . Also, labels

advertising dairy products as high in calcium , and thus offering protection from osteoporosis ,

are often missing information relating to the high fat content and its possible contribution to the

risk of heart disease.

Consumers are also misled by food comparisons. For example, one fruit drink may be advertised

as containing more vitamin C than another, when in reality neither of the drinks are a good

source of the vitamin. In addition, labels on some fruit drinks claim that the product "contains

real fruit juice" when, in reality, the fine print reveals that one serving contains "less than 10%

fruit juice."

Recommendations for Responsible Food Marketing

Consumers rely on product advertisements and food labels for nutritional education. The

American Association of Advertising Agencies states that responsible food marketing strategies

should: (1) avoid vague, false, misleading, or exaggerated statements; (2) avoid incomplete or

distorted interpretations of claims made by professional or scientific authorities; and (3) avoid

unfair product comparisons. Advertisers must also consider the long-term consequences or

potential for harm stemming from their claims. While these recommendations are important in

developed countries, they become even more critical in international marketing campaigns.

It is also important for consumers to recognize their role in evaluating health claims and product

comparisons. While advertisers are aware of the need for truth in advertising, sometimes their

desire to sell products over-shadows an accurate disclosure of product attributes. Advertisers

should bear in mind that inaccurate or vague health claims have the potential to cause economic

hardship, illness, and even death. Lastly, marketing strategies used in developing nations should

be subjected to the highest standards of truth in advertising.

Television Advertising and Childhood Obesity

The importance of physical activity in the prevalence of obesity is evident from the present

study. Lack of sports activity, more time spent on TV/computer, and inadequate aerobic exercise

are significantly associated with overweight/obesity. It is also observed that the prevalence of

overweight/obesity is high among students who use vehicles as mode of conveyance to school

compared to those who walk/bicycle to school. The difference in prevalence between these two

groups increased as the distance of school increased. The present study also revealed the

sedentary lifestyle like more time spent on TV and it is found that the study subjects who watch

TV/ use computer for more than 16 hrs/week showed a risk of having overweight/obesity 5.02

times that of subjects who watch TV/ use computer for less than 16 hrs/week. Some research

from the United States and Canada indicates that on average, adolescent watches over 20 hours

of television per week (25, 26). Several studies have found a positive association between the

times spent viewing television and increased prevalence of overweight in children (27, .28, and

29). The explanation for this is, Television viewing displace the time that children spend in

physical activities, contribute to increased energy consumption through excessive snacking and

eating meals in front of the TV, influence children to make unhealthy food choices through

exposure to food advertisements and it lower children's metabolic rate.

Dietary patterns in early childhood are recognised as important, not only for the prevention of

childhood diseases such as obesity, anaemia and tooth decay, but also because eating habits

developed in childhood are likely to persist into adulthood. It is therefore important that children

are supported to make healthy food choices so as to optimise their growth and protect them

against dietrelated diseases later in life. Television is recognised as an important source of

education for children and it exerts its influence on children, from a young age. Therefore,

television as a source of nutrition education has received some critical attention in Australia and

overseas.

Children watch an average of 23 hours per week of television. Since nine to 13 minutes of

advertising is broadcast per hour, children on average view approximately 240 minutes of

advertising per week. This degree of exposure to advertising has the potential to influence

children's health attitudes and behaviours. The National Health and Medical Research Council

has reported that television may be more influential than family in setting children's food

preferences. At the same time, educationists contend that young children under eight years of age

are not developmentally capable of understanding the persuasive intent of advertisements, and

therefore accept advertising claims as statements of truth. The youngest viewers, up to age eight

years, are not able to distinguish between the content of advertising and television programming.

Young children, therefore, are particularly susceptible to manipulation by advertisers.

As a result of these findings, the impact of television on children's eating, nutritional status,

knowledge and perception of foods has been the focus of a range of investigations. There is

evidence to show that foods heavily advertised on television are rated highly by children.

Borzekowski and Robinson (2001) found that brief exposures to televised food commercials can

influence preschool children's food preferences. There is also confirmation that children can

strongly influence the purchasing habits of their parents.

A recent survey by Consumers International found a wide diversity in the practice and regulation

of television food advertising to and for children in a recent study of 13 countries. It found food

advertising was the single largest category of advertising in the majority of countries during

television programs of appeal to children. Other studies have consistently shown that food

advertising during children's viewing times predominantly promote products of low nutritional

value (high in fat, salt or sugar and low in fiber). Advertisements for healthier food such as fruits

and vegetables, were either non-existent or extremely few in number. The most heavily

advertised categories of food during children's viewing times have been found to be fast food

restaurants, soft drinks, confectionery and sweetened breakfast cereals. It is clear therefore, that

television food advertising directed at children does not encourage or support the healthy eating

messages of nutrition educators. Yet the eating habits of many Australian children are of

concern to public health nutritionists.

The 1995 National Nutrition Survey recorded the diets of 3007, two- to 18-year-old children,

based on a 24-hour recall. The survey found more than one third of children did not eat any fruit

and approximately 20% did not eat vegetable, on the day prior to the survey and, therefore, did

not benefit from the protective effect of these food groups. In contrast, one third of children ate

snack foods such as potato crisps and extruded snacks, 50% ate confectionery such as lollies and

chocolates, and 75% ate high-fat foods such as commercial hamburgers, and pastries. These are

coincidentally the very foods that are heavily advertised during children's television viewing

times. Studies have also shown significant associations between time spent watching television

and the prevalence of both hypercholesterolemia and obesity in children. More Australian

children are overweight and obese today,

Factors responsible for obesity

Obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television.

Children’s exposure to TV ads for unhealthy food products (i.e., high-calorie, low-nutrient

snacks, fast foods, and sweetened drinks) are a significant risk factor for obesity.

In very young children, research has found that for every one-hour increase in TV viewing

per day, there are higher intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food, red and processed

meat, and overall calories (48.7 kcal/day). E xcess weight can be gained by the addition of

only 150 calories a day.

Other research has found that children who watch more than three hours of television a day

are 50 per cent more likely to be obese than children who watch fewer than two hours.

Food and beverage advertising targeted at children influences their product preferences,

requests, and diet.

The food and beverage industry has resolved to self-regulate their marketing to children, but

this has not resulted in significant improvement in the marketing of healthier food (i.e., fruits,

vegetables, whole grains, low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products, lean meats, poultry, fish,

and beans) to children. Almost three out of every four foods advertised to children falls into the

unhealthy categories that contribute to the obesity epidemic.

Food ads on television make up 50% of all the ad time on children’s shows. These ads are

almost completely dominated by unhealthy food products (34% for candy and snacks, 28% for

cereal, 10% for fast food, 4% for dairy products, 1% for fruit juices, and 0% for fruits or

vegetables). Children are rarely exposed to public service announcements or advertising for

healthier foods.

Clearly, children between ages 8-12 are receiving the highest rates of ad exposure. They are

entering a critical stage of development where they are establishing food habits, making more of

their own food choices, and have their own money to spend on the types of food they enjoy.

Other Factors that Increase the Influence of Advertising on Our Children 

Children today watch far more television than children did in the early days of TV. In addition,

they are online where advertising is prevalent as well. The influence of advertising has

permeated much of what our children do and see.

This Media Family page indicates that the average American child views over 40,000 television

commercials each year. This doesn't even cover some of the more subtle advertising such as the

use of specific products in the shows that kids watch.

More and more children spend time online as well. This Marketing to Children paper discusses

the fact that marketers are targeting children as young as 4 years old via the internet, often with

the parents being unaware.

Clearly, many parents have concerns about the amount of marketing and the pervasiveness of

advertising messages directed toward children. However, there is another disturbing trend that

has emerged in recent years; the promotion of "adult type" products to children. Vehicle

manufacturers for instance know that children influence what parents buy but even more

importantly, they know that if they can "hook" a child on their brand name while young, they

may have a customer for life. Whether it's the Porsche ad that shows the grade school boy

recognizing the car as the epitome of "cool" and success, or the Chevy that wins the NASCAR

championship; these brands are sealed into a child's mind at a young age.

The dolls that little girls play with may promote brand name make up, board games may make

use of a specific credit card, and an HO race track often includes a specific brand of car. All of

these promotions are paid for by manufacturers and serve a very specific purpose. These

messages often have the effect of making kids consumers of such products at an increasingly

early age and assure that they develop their brand loyalty earlier.

Is Advertising Really That Influential? 

There are a number of studies that support the idea that advertising is

particularly effective with children due to the fact they don't have the same critical

thinking/judgments as an adult. This brief from the APA highlights this thought and discusses

how such advertising can lead children to unhealthy food and lifestyle choices.

Advertising has also been shown to greatly influence a child's body image and sexual

development. This Young Media site covers many of the related issues. Children today often feel

the influence of advertising's subtle messages more strongly that those provided by schools and

even parents.

Certainly many child development specialists have argued that advertising has taken a disastrous

turn as far as the welfare of children. This 1999 letter from a group of psychologists expresses

their concern regarding the use of psychology in the marketing of products to children. It

indicates that such knowledge is now often used in designing ad campaigns to the detriment of

children. This more recent APA task force (American Psychology Association) has also called

for restrictions based on such concerns. It appears that the professionals concerned with child

development have grown increasingly concerned about the influence of advertising.

BEVERAGES

Children and adolescents are bombarded with promotions for foods and beverages, and the

majority of products advertised to them are high in calories, sugar, sodium and fat. Although

many social, cultural and environmental factors influence children’s and adolescents’ risk for

obesity, marketing may have an especially powerful impact on what foods and beverages they

consume.

This brief summarizes the latest research about the ubiquity of food and beverage marketing

targeting youth and how marketing may impact their dietary patterns and health. It also describes

national regulations to protect youth from deceptive marketing practices, outlines the changes

that some food and beverage companies have made to offer healthier options and details what

research is still needed to understand and limit the potential for food and beverage marketing to

adversely impact young people’s health.

The brief was prepared by Nicole Larson and Mary Story of Healthy Eating Research, a

national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Among the key research findings highlighted:

The largest share of advertising budgets—46 percent of all youth marketing expenditures

—is dedicated to television because it has the potential to reach a broad audience. High

proportions of toddlers and preschoolers (75 percent), school-age children (84 percent)

and adolescents (73 percent) watch television every day.

Nearly all (98 percent) food advertisements viewed by children and 89 percent of

advertisements viewed by adolescents were for products that were high in fat, sugar or

sodium.

Higher exposure to advertising (based on parents’ reports of viewing habits and

advertising broadcast data) was related to greater consumption of advertised brands and

energy-dense product categories (sugared breakfast cereals, confectionery, savory snacks,

soft drinks and products from fast-food restaurants).

Food and beverages developed for, and advertised to, young people are dominated by those that

are calorie dense and nutrient poor; Television advertising influences children’s food and

beverage preferences, purchase requests and short-term consumption; There is moderate

evidence that food and beverage advertising influences the food knowledge and beliefs of

younger children and the usual dietary intake of children aged two to five years ; There is limited

research regarding the influence of food and beverage advertising on youth ; and, There is strong

evidence that children and youth’s exposure to television advertising is associated with

overweight and obesity. However, not enough evidence was found to conclude that advertising

caused overweight and obesity. Conducting research to show that advertising is a cause of poor

health outcomes such as obesity is difficult.

Many food and beverage advertisers voluntarily avoid direct ads to children or presenting them

during children’s programming. That is commendable, but much of a child’s exposure to food

and beverage advertising comes during prime time. The food ads they see are often for products

that are high in calories, fat, and sugar and salt.

Rigorous studies have demonstrated that children shown food ads will choose the advertised

products at significantly higher rates compared to children who have not seen the ads.

Furthermore, an Australian study found an association between the amount of TV viewing and

positive attitudes towards, and higher intakes of ‘unhealthy’ foods.

Not only do children make those decisions, they also influence what their parents are buying. A

2008 study found that about a third of the time, children’s influence was successful, a rate that

increased as the child got older. The authors also noted that children’s television viewing

behaviour was the most important predictor of whether children would attempt to influence

purchases.

Food and beverage advertising is frequently aired during children’s television programming and

much of the foods being advertised are of poor quality.  Now, an old tool in the advertiser’s

arsenal - product placement – is getting new attention.  Product placement is the paid presence of

branded products in movies and is proving to be a potent source of advertising to children.  At a

time when children and adolescents are already not getting enough of the daily recommended

nutrients, product placement provides yet another medium to promote energy-dense, nutrient

poor foods.

As reported in the February 8th, 2010 online edition of Pediatrics, we studied the prevalence of

product placement of foods, beverages and restaurant brands in 200 of the top grossing movies

between 1995 to 2005.

We found four key points:

1) The majority of the brand placements were for energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods or product

lines. 

2)  Sugar-sweetened beverages, largely soda, accounted for the largest proportion of all of the

food product brand placements; 1 in 4 brand appearances was a sugar-sweetened beverage.

3)  A surprising number of product-placements for low quality food and beverages were found in

movies targeted specifically to older children and teenagers. One third of G-rated movies, more

than half (58.5%) of PG-rated movies, and almost three quarters (73.2%) of PG-13–rated movies

had brand appearances.

4) Six companies accounted for almost half of all brand placements - PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestle

USA, McDonald's, Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group and Burger King.

Advertising is one of the largest businesses in the world.  Advertising in movie production alone

accounts for $28 billion in revenues, $7 billion of which are spent on product placement.   This

study demonstrates the need for more research on how product placement in movies affects the

food and beverage choices of children and adolescents.  At a time in their development where

children and adolescents are gaining independence in food choices and are also very susceptible

to outside influences, we have to carefully examine what factors may be influencing lifelong

choices and habits around food.

Sponsorship

Sport

Several international fast food companies have sponsored sporting events, teams and leagues.

McDonald's is one of the largest sponsors, having affiliations with the NHL, Olympic Games,

and the FIFA World Cup. Several companies, including McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza

Hut, have a history of sponsoring NASCAR teams.

Television

Some fast food companies sponsor television programmes. Domino's Pizza have sponsored Sky

One's screenings of The Simpsons in the UK for many years (But reported because of new

regulation on advertising that the deal may end). In 2005 Pizza Hut sponsored the same program

when it was shown on Channel 4 – the Sky/Domino's deal continueChildhood obesity around the

world, and particularly in the United States, is an escalating problem that is especially

detrimental as its effects carry on into adulthood. In this paper we employ the 1979 Child-Young

Adult National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of

Youth to estimate the effects of fast-food restaurant advertising on children and adolescents

being overweight. The advertising measure used is the number of hours of spot television fast-

food restaurant advertising messages seen per week. Our results indicate that a ban on these

advertisements would reduce the number of overweight children ages 3-11 in a fixed population

by 10 percent and would reduce the number of overweight adolescents ages 12-18 by 12 percent.

The elimination of the tax deductibility of this type of advertising would produce smaller

declines of between 3 and 5 percent in these outcomes but would impose lower costs on children

and adults who consume fast food in moderation because positive information about restaurants

that supply this type of food would not be banned completely from television.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

"To know the influence of advertisement on food habits of children"

To find out the effect of advertisement on children.

To know the liking and the disliking of consumers regarding the advertisement.

To measure the role of Advertisement in decision-making.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research

According to Clifford Woody Research comprises defining and redefining problems,

suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching

conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions.

Research Methodology

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. The study

of research methodology gives the student the necessary training in gathering material,

participation in field work when required, and also training in techniques for the collection of

data appropriate to particular problem, in the use of statistics, questionnaires and controlled

experimentation and in recording evidences, sorting it out and interpreting it. Knowledge of

research methodology plays a key role in project work. It consists of series of actions or steps

necessary to effectively carry out research and the desired sequencing of these steps.

Data Collection Method

Data can be collected by Primary as well as secondary method.

Primary Data Sources

Questionnaire methods and discussions were used to collect data.

Questionnaire Designed:

Questionnaire was used for the survey.

Secondary Data Sources

The secondary data sources were collected from the company manuals, handbooks,

websites and management books and are edited to suite the purpose.

Sampling technique:

Stratified sampling technique is adopted to conduct the research. Stratified sampling is a

selection method for achieving a greater degree of representatives, therefore decreasing the

probable sampling error. It is based on the concept that a homogeneous population produces

samples with smaller sampling errors than does a heterogeneous population. Stratified sampling

is accomplished by placing all the members of the population into groups according to some

characteristics that is common among them, that is homogeneous subsets of the population. Then

specified number of unit is chosen from each of the groups or strata by purposive means.

Sample Size:-

Sample size was taken 100 to undertake the survey

LIMITATIONS

Junk food is made using a lot of saturated fats. Such fats are unhealthy and on digestion

can release a lot of toxins into the body. The body gets food but not healthy food.

Junk food does not contain vitamins and minerals and much of the nutrients seen in

properly cooked food and in raw food. The body is not getting the necessary vitamins and

minerals necessary to have good health and immunity from diseases.

Limitations

Time was the major constraint, which prevented me to put in more effort.

Some people left few questions unanswered.

Some of the respondents were not ready to fill the questionnaire.

Not all the respondents were cooperative thus it was difficult to convince them for

filling up the questionnaire.

Some of the respondents might have got biased while filling up the questionnaire.

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS

Age Very

unhealthy

Somewhat

unhealthy

Neither

healthy nor

unhealthy

Somewhat

healthy

Very

healthy

Don’t

know

70%

30%

yes no

Q1:- How far the advertisements change the buying behaviour of children?

Very much Somewhat Neutral

Age Very much Somewhat Neutral

Q2:- Do you buy the product after watching the advertisement?

Yes No Sometimes

Age Yes No Sometimes

Age Yes No Sometimes

Age Price Brand Name Packaging Quality Offers

Q3:- What criteria do you keep in mind while choosing between two same products, but of

different brand, which are featured in advertisement?

Price Brand Name Packaging

Quality offers

Q4:- What channels you Usually Watch on Television?

Star Plus Cartoon Network

Age Star Plus Cartoon Network Pogo Disney others

etwork

Pogo Disney others

Q5:- Do you remember anything after watching the advertisement?

Yes No

Age Yes No

Age Yes No

Age Yes No

Radio Building/ Roadside Buses

Newspaper Shops Internet

Age Radio Building/

Roadside

Buses Newspapers Shops Internet

Q10:- Which parameters of advertisement effect yours buying decision ?

Advertisement effectiveness Background

Price Brand Ambassador

Age Advertisement

effectiveness

Background Price Brand

Ambassador

Age Yes No

Findings

“Although there is not yet a causal link between food and beverage advertising to children and

obesity, some researchers feel that there is sufficient evidence to support a logical pathway

between advertising unhealthy foods and unhealthy weight gain.”

“Television advertising influences children to prefer and request high-calorie and low-nutrient

foods and beverages.”

“Adult-targeted ads focused on making the food appear healthy, nutritious, tasty, and

convenient, whereas the child-targeted ads portrayed foods as fun, exciting, and popular.”

SUGGESTIONS

There are a number of things that you as a parent can do to reduce the influence of advertising on

your kids.

Restrict television viewing time and time spent on the internet. Get your kids involved in other

activities. See our Television and Children and Influence of Media on Children pages for more

suggestions.

Learn more about the methods employed by advertisers to reach your children. Become

informed through the various websites and articles referenced on this page.

Educate your kids to be more media savvy and to critically think about the purpose of many

media messages. This Common Sense Media page provides talking points for parents.

Get involved. Learn more below about an organization that works to provide an environment

free from excessive advertising.

What can parents do?

Limit “screen-time” (e.g. TV, movies, internet, video games) to less than 2 hours a day. 

This will also help limit advertising exposure. 

Know what your children are exposed to through media.  Watch TV and movies with

your children.  The average 8 year old begins watching the majority of programming by

themselves.

Talk with your children about what they are viewing.  Watching TV and movies with your

children presents an educational opportunity.  Help kids understand that the main

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of overweight/obesity is high among high school students of

Thiruvananthapuram Corporation compared to other studies carried out in India. There was a

strong association of this prevalence with family history, lack of physical activity and dietary

pattern. Most of the variables found to be significantly associated with overweight/obesity are

modifiable.

Read more: http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201008/2179883551.html#ixzz1IrQ9BalW

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

Gender:-Male/Female

Address:

Q1:- How far the advertisements change the buying behaviour of children?

Very much Somewhat Neutral

Q2:- Do you buy the product after watching the advertisement?

Yes No Sometimes

Q3:- What criteria do you keep in mind while choosing between two same products, but of

different brand, which are featured in advertisement?

Price Brand Name Packaging

Quality Offers

Q4:- What channels you Usually Watch on Television?

Star Plus Cartoon Network

Pogo Disney Others

Q5:- Do you remember anything after watching the advertisement?

Yes No

Q6:- After Seeing Advertisements have you ever asked someone to buy the advertised

Foods/Drinks for Them?

Yes No

Q7:- Do you keep the price in mind while buying the product?

Yes No

Q8:- Where you have Seen or Heard Food and Beverages Advertisement?

Radio Building/ Roadside Buses

Newspapers Shops Internet

Q9:- Based on what ad says or implies, how healthy would you rate this product?

Very unhealthy somewhat unhealthy neither healthy nor unhealthy

Somewhat healthy Very healthy don’t know

Q10:- Which parameters of advertisement effect yours buying decision ?

Advertisement effectiveness Background

Brand Ambassador Price

Q11:- Do you think that your family’s food choices are strongly affected by TV advertising?

Yes No Sometimes

Q12:- Would you support a complete ban on food advertising to kids?

Yes No

Suggestions:

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.free-press-release.com/news-childhood-obesity-1260418278.html

www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k3/feb/febmam27.htm

www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110110/ttlife1.htm

www.squidoo.com/influence-of-advertising

www.cancercouncil.com.au/cfac/downloads/briefing_paper.pdf

www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=35968

hoodcenter.dartmouth.edu/FoodProductPlacement.html

http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Kwa-Men/Marketing-Strategies.html#ixzz1GgqBDzVL