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Prevention: Marketing to children

Unhealthy food marketing and children: exposure and impact

Last updated 05-06-2025

Marketing of foods that are highly processed and high in sugar, salts, and fat undermine efforts towards healthy diets across populations. Children of all ages are vulnerable to the effects of marketing of unhealthy foods. Research has shown that young children’s exposure to food marketing effects their preference, requests and consumption of unhealthy foods. Older children (who make their own purchasing decisions) are also influenced by unhealthy food marketing through positive brand attitudes, and increased purchase and consumption of unhealthy foods. Children and adolescents encounter unhealthy food marketing through their daily lives, including online, as they travel to school, on television, through sports sponsorships, on packaging for unhealthy food products, and through collectible toys.

Key Evidence

01

The average Australian 5 to 8-year-old is exposed to at least 827 unhealthy food advertisements on television each year

02

Australian adolescents are exposed to almost 100 promotions per week from online sources

03

Children aged 4 to 6 years believe a product tastes better if it has a cartoon character on the pack

04

Children aged 4 to 6 years believe a product tastes better if it has a cartoon character on the pack

Australian children see and interact with a large number of promotions for unhealthy foods that come from a variety of sources. Australian children aged 5 to 8-years-old are exposed to at least 827 unhealthy food advertisements on television each year.1 Australian adolescents are exposed to almost 100 promotions each week coming from online sources.2 The majority of food and drink advertisements near schools and on children’s journeys to schools feature unhealthy products.3 A study from Perth showed that schools have an average of 36 food advertisements within 500 m of the grounds.3

There is also evidence that children who come from a more socioeconomically disadvantaged background may be exposed to high volumes of unhealthy food marketing. For example, a study quantifying the nature and extent of food marketing across train stations in Sydney found that the highest proportion of advertisements for unhealthy foods occurred in areas with the lowest socioeconomic status.4 Another study in Perth found more food advertisements and a higher proportion of unhealthy food advertisements near schools in lower socioeconomic areas.3

Food marketing influences the diets of children of all ages by taking advantage of their vulnerabilities as they age. For example, children younger than about 5 years are unable to tell the difference between a program and an advertisement. Even older children who can identify advertising lack the cognitive skills and experience to critically interpret marketing messages.5 Adolescent brains are biased towards rewards and they are more likely to respond to cues in the environment, such as marketing.6 Adolescents also have their own purchasing power and are heavily influenced by their peers.7 The food industry takes advantage of this, particularly with social media, using highly targeted and personalised marketing messages to encourage the purchase and consumption of their products.

Studies have found that exposure to unhealthy food advertisements increases food intake among children.8 For example, an Australian study showed that children aged 7 to 12 years increased food intake following exposure to unhealthy food marketing, and did not compensate for this by reducing food intake at a subsequent meal.9


Online marketing of unhealthy food

Digital marketing is an important tool to market unhealthy food to children and teenagers as they spend significant amounts of time online. On a typical weekday, Australian 15-year-olds spend about two hours online when they are not at school, and a quarter of them are online for more than four hours.10 Research by the Australian eSafety Commissioner found that teens spent an average of 14.4 hours per week online, most often researching things that interest them, and watching videos, movies or TV.11 An analysis of online activities among Australian 14 to 17-year-olds found a growing trend towards streaming of video and audio content.2 Other popular activities included social networking, uploading content such as photos and videos, and playing games online.

As they spend time online, Australian children see a lot of unhealthy food marketing. A 2021 Australian study found that for every hour children (aged 13 to 17 years) are online, they are exposed to 17 unhealthy food advertisements.2

Unhealthy food marketers can target children and teenagers using digital media in various ways. Data driven advertisements, targeted and personalised to the characteristics of the users, are seamlessly integrated within social media feeds and website content. Influencers are used to endorse products and brands, including the use of ‘kidfluencers’ to promote food and drink products and brands among younger audiences.12 Food companies are also promoting their products and brands through user generated content. For example, unhealthy food companies have been found to use social media app TikTok to encourage users to create short videos featuring their products and brands, in the words of TikTok, turning users into “unofficial brand ambassadors”.13 In-game marketing, such as the placement of food and beverage logos or brands in virtual worlds, use of “advergames” (an online game created with the primary intention to promote a product or brand) by food companies are also used to embed products and brands into games and sponsorship of popular gaming influencers or the incorporation of branded content in live stream gaming further amplify the reach of unhealthy food marketing to children. Marketing on social media encourages teenagers to like and share brand posts with their friends, thereby harnessing the influence of peer networks.14

Adolescents are especially vulnerable to unhealthy food marketing online due to the strong engagement with technology, including social media platforms, gaming, streaming services and e-sports. A recent study of Australian children aged 10 to 16 years found that watching food-branded video content on YouTube and seeing favourite food brands advertised online were significantly associated with higher consumption of unhealthy food and drinks.15 A UK study found an increased intake of unhealthy snacks among children who viewed images of social media influencers with unhealthy snacks on Instagram, compared to children who had viewed images of influencers with healthy snacks or non-food products.16

A US study found that playing food-branded ‘advergames’ increased children’s consumption of unhealthy snack foods, compared to playing advergames featuring healthy foods and non-food advergames.17 Within advergames, the technique of ‘rewarded video advertising’ in which players are shown an ad before progressing to a new level was shown to be particularly effective. An Australian study of children aged 7 to 12 found that children exposed to rewarded video advertising within an advergame chose the promoted brand significantly more than children in other arms of the study, when offered a choice of snacks afterwards.18 Children exposed to the rewarded video advertising were far more likely to choose the promoted brand even compared to children who played an advergame with the promoted brand included as high-value game pieces, highlighting the sophisticated nature of advertising techniques being used to market unhealthy food to children online.

Digital media gives marketers data that can be used to target children based on their online behaviours, social networks, browsing history, app usage and device location data. Online marketers are building extensive, detailed profiles of anyone using the internet to tailor their marketing messages in unprecedented ways.

The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for Europe explains:19

Advertising delivered to users on the Internet is tailored either to the content that a user is viewing on a site (contextual advertising) or to characteristics and preferences of each individual user (online behavioural advertising). To deliver contextual advertising, information on users is collected within the website, app or platform itself. To deliver online behavioural advertising, all participants in the advertising ecosystem collect and sell extensive information on users, drawn from dozens or more trackers on any one site or platform. Information on users is merged from multiple Internet locations and devices to create deep individual profiles that go far beyond basic demographics. User profiles include detailed data on online browsing activity, devices and networks used, geo-locations, personal preferences and “likes” and social activities in digital social networks.19

Online marketing also relies on inferred information, where advertisers make educated guesses about users based on patterns of behaviour. For example, if a user frequently visits fast-food websites or watches food related content, advertisers may infer a preference for certain types of foods, even if the user has never directly provided such information. Inferred data, combined with explicit information, allows for highly refined advertising strategies that anticipate users' food and beverage choices, encouraging them to engage with specific products or brands. Advertisers follow children “throughout the day, at moments of happiness, frustration, hunger and intent” to deliver advertising with maximum impact.19 Marketers aim to engage children in emotional, entertaining experiences and encourage them to share these with friends.


Television advertising of unhealthy food

Commercial television viewing is independently associated with obesity in children (not just because it is a sedentary activity) and researchers conclude this link is likely due to advertising of unhealthy foods.20 The promotion of unhealthy products not only encourages brand switching within a product category but increases consumption of particular categories of foods including fast food and soft drinks.21 It attracts new customers22 and establishes societal norms around acceptable and desirable foods.2324

Studies from many countries have shown that marketing of unhealthy foods on television frequently targets children. Internationally, unhealthy food advertisements are more frequent during children’s typical viewing times, during school holidays, on children’s channels and around children’s programming.23 In Australia, unhealthy food and drink advertisements are more common during children’s peak viewing times, but less common during school holidays.252627 A wide range of creative strategies are used that are likely to appeal to young people. These include celebrity endorsements, animations and promotional characters. International studies of television and other media have shown that these creative strategies were more common in the marketing of food to children than to adults.23

Researchers have calculated that the average Australian 5 to 8-year-old, who watches around 80 minutes of television each day, is exposed to at least 827 advertisements or four hours of unhealthy food advertising on television each year.1 However, the amount of free-to-air television that Australian children watch is continuing to decline.28

An Australian study of children aged 10 to 16 years found exposure to television advertising – not just the amount of time spent watching television – was associated with increased consumption of unhealthy food and drinks.29 The study found that the link between television viewing and poor diet was strongest for children who watched the most commercial television and were exposed to advertisements at the time of broadcast or did not skip through advertisements in television recordings.29 Australian children with a lower socioeconomic position are more likely to watch television and for longer periods of time than those with a higher socioeconomic position.30

Other marketing of unhealthy food

While television and online advertising of unhealthy food to children forms a large part of the evidence base for the impact of advertising on children, the effect of other types of marketing has also been studied.

Product packaging that includes the presence of cartoon characters has been found to influence taste perceptions in young children. A recent systematic review found that children had significantly higher taste preferences for unhealthy foods when they are packaged with cartoons or licensed characters.31 In one US study of children aged 4 to 6 years they believed a product with a cartoon character tasted better than the same food in a package without the character.32 In another US study, children aged 3 to 5 years tasted identical pairs of food and drink but felt they tasted better if they were in McDonald’s branded packaging.33

Collectible toys are another means of altering children’s food preferences, and research has shown they can be used to encourage healthy choices. A US study of children aged 3 to 5 years found children were more likely to choose a meal with a collectible toy regardless of whether the meal was healthy or unhealthy.34 A similar Australian study of 5 to 9-year-olds found children were significantly more likely to select a healthier meal that included a collectible toy over an unhealthy meal without a collectible toy.35

Sports sponsorship also influences children’s preferences. An Australian study of 10 to 14-year-olds involved in local sport found high awareness of their clubs’ sponsors, particularly when they were food and beverage companies.36 A majority of children in the study thought their club’s food and beverage sponsors were 'cool', and liked to return the favour to these sponsors by buying their products. Many of the children had received a voucher from a food or beverage company to reward good sport performance (86%), or a sporting certificate displaying a food or beverage company logo (76%). Another more recent Australian study found that most parents are concerned with sponsorship of local sport by unhealthy local and large food companies.37

Outdoor advertising can expose children to unhealthy food marketing as they move through their daily lives. Studies of routes taken by Australian children as they travel to school have found that children can view up to 37 unhealthy food advertisements each way to school38, and that most of the outdoor advertisements near schools are for unhealthy foods or alcohol.3

Retail outlets (in-store or online) also strategically place unhealthy foods in prominent locations such as at end-of-aisles, islands, entrances, and checkouts to capture attention and stimulate impulse purchases. A 2020 study examining more than 100 Australian supermarkets found that unhealthy foods were consistently more likely than healthy foods to be placed at prominent store locations, with this being higher in supermarkets located in disadvantaged areas.39 Parents report that these placement based marketing strategies undermine their efforts to support healthy food habits with their children.40 Retailers also promote the purchase of unhealthy foods through use of price promotions, such as price discounts and multi buy offers. Price promotions typically lead to higher purchase volumes and may increase consumption of promoted products, particularly for unhealthy foods.41 For more information on the use and impact of price promotions, and policies to address them, please see the Obesity Evidence Hub page on Unhealthy food price promotions.

Child directed marketing is commonly used to market unhealthy food. Brands use "fun" to make unhealthy food more appealing to children. This includes playful names (e.g., "party mix" lollies, "fun-sized" chocolate bars), bright colours, cartoon characters, and creative shapes like Freddo Frogs. McDonald's pioneered this approach in 1979 with the Happy Meal—a toy-packed kids' meal in a colourful box that remains a global success.

This emphasis on fun shifts children's relationships with food, making eating about entertainment rather than the food itself.42 It also diverts attention from health concerns and can lead to overconsumption. As children grow, marketing strategies evolve—"fun" gives way to "cool," with brands using viral campaigns to encourage peer sharing.43 However, it is important to note that even when marketing doesn’t explicitly focus on fun or excitement, children are still influenced by repeated exposure to branding, product placements, and endorsements, which shape their food preferences and choices over time.44

Content for this page was reviewed and updated by Rebecca Bennett and Kathryn Backholer at the Global Centre for Preventive Health and Nutrition at Deakin University. For more information about the approach to content on the site please see About | Obesity Evidence Hub.

References

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