Kids Bombarded With Internet Junk Food Ads

Allowing your child to spend time on the Internet invariably raises a number of questions: How do I protect them from predators? How can I control the type of websites they visit? And the latest question for parents striving to beat the junk food battle: What impact do online ads for fattening, sugary, unhealthy foods have on my child?

Researchers recently examined 28 websites most frequented by children and found the majority of advertisements for food met experts' criteria for "foods to avoid." Popular sites like Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, among others, promoted sugar-filled cereals, candy, soda or fast food, according to Dr. Lori Dorfman, director of the Berkeley Media Studies Group in California and one of the researchers on the study. In fact, out of the 77 foods advertised on these sites, only five were considered healthy enough for children to consume, the researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health.

With only 2 percent of children today meeting the USDA's recommended daily nutrition, most kids are already at a disadvantage. Children spend an average of one and a half hours a day on the Internet where they are bombarded by ads promoting unhealthy eating, which only exacerbates the problem of getting kids to choose quality foods.

"The public health implications are serious," Dorfman told Reuters Health in an email, "because digital marketing such as what we found on Web sites popular with kids is much different than TV advertising, which caused the alarm in the first place."

In the wake of public criticism about advertising junk food to kids on TV, many brands are choosing instead to promote their products through online games -- or "advergames". And it seems to be working. After viewing games that focused on cookies and chips, researchers found that kids wanted those foods, but when the games featured fruit and orange juice, children leaned towards those items instead. "Digital marketing," Dorfman added, "is immersive, interactive and incessant -- rather than 30 seconds watching a TV commercial, children are spending 20 minutes deeply engaged with the brand."

Knowing all of this, is it any wonder that childhood obesity rates continue to rise? Supervising the Internet is challenging enough, but trying to monitor every click our kids make is virtually impossible, leaving some parents to wonder if winning the online junk food war requires a different tactic: Turn off the computer and go outside.

Take a look at how other countries are dealing with advertising aimed at kids.