COMMUNtTY HEALTH STUDIES VOLUME XN NUMBER 2 1990

TELEVISION FOOD ADVERTISING: A CHALLENGE FOR THE NEW PUBLIC HEALTH IN AUSTRALIA

Heather Morton

Department of Nutrition dr Social Health, South Australian College of Advanced Education. Undcrdale 5032.

Intmductlon Many Australians continue to wnsume diets

which are not commensurate with good health. The over consumption of food and particularly foods which are low in dietary fibre and high in energy, fat, refined sugar and salt are implicated in the aetiology of various diseases and the majority of deaths in Ways of promoting the nutritional health of the population must therefore be an important concern of 'healthy' public policy.

One of the aims of nutrition education programs based on the Australian Dietary Guidelines is to increase the consumption of one group of foods in the diet (especially fruit, vegetables and cereals) and to reduce but not eliminate the consumption of another group of heavily processed foods, high in energy and low in fibre. Yet simultaneously the heavy television advertising of foods from the second group is tolerated. even in timeslots specially designated for children's viewing; in other words a social environment is allowed which does not support the selection of a healthy diet.

This study provides a basis for debate about the effectiveness of self-regulatory wntrol by the food and advertising industries. Such matters involve value judgements to be made by the whole Community but there is a need to establish baselines from which to monitor changes over time in food advertising practice. so that nutritionists and public health workers CM decide where to direct their attention. Catainly the 'new' public health priorities of health promotion, community participation and social justice create a different social policy background against which the findings could be discussed and acted upon.

Strong community agitation about the level and type of food advertising to children in the late 1970s produced, in 1981. an influential National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Report on the subject. That Report urged better self-regulation on the advertisers and contained a veiled threat: "undesirable practices [of

advertising] have been identified in Australia. Remedial action without recourse to law or mandatory regulation is available."' Doubts about the efficacy of the suggested self-regulation were soon allayed because, in the short tenn, levels of food advertising did fall sharply.' However, the effect was temporary: eight years after the NHMRC Report levels have risen again, even beyond those prevailing in 1981.'

The present stance of the Australian Consumers' Association (ACA) and other advocacy groups is that self-regulation has not worked to the community's advantage - something hotly disputed by the food industry. During the recent review of the children's television standards by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal (ABT). the ACA and others made strongly-worded submissions asserting that a specific code to control food advertisements, and specifically those directed towards children, should now be inmduced. The focus of their objection was the constant bombardment of children by advertisements for the same narrow range of products, most of which contravene one or more of the Dietary Guidelines. Advertisers, they say. should be called upon to counter the impression that the heavy consumption of sweet, salty or fatty foods is compatible with a hedthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately. the ABT was not ready to take such a radical step. It opted instead for the simple prohibition of advertisements that contain misleading or incorrect nutrition information;' a bland move, because very few food advertisements directed at children make any nutritional claims at all. Not surprisingly, the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) is satisfied with this modest new Standard, whereas many nutritionists and consumer groups repudiate it as inconsequentid. While the introduction of any Standard dealing with food advertising can be viewed a small victory, it does nothing to address the main issue: the constant, lavish promotion to youth of the

MORTON 153 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

message that consuming foods of poor nutritional value is a key element in an exciting lifestyle.

Another weakness of the above Standard is that, while it applies to all the advertisements shown during the five hours a week which are specifically designated for children's viewing, the average child is known to watch for about 15 hours a week. All advertisements which target children deserve special scrutiny, whenever they are screened. This fact is recognised in the ABT Television Advertising Condition 5. which states that "special care and judgement must be exercised in respect of advertisements directed to children."' However. without a precise definition of what is meant by an "advertisement directed to children." this condition must remain difficult to enforce or adhere to. The appeal of the child target for advertisers is very great, not least because children are in the process of forming enduring food habits. I t is true that child consumers lack direct spending power; yet, as advertisers know, they can be very successful at influencing the choice of adult purchases. Unfortunately this can strain parent/child relationships' and can complicate family food consumption priorities, leading to maladaptive practices, especially among those living in poverty when less money is available for food.'

I t seems paradoxical that, with the new emphasis on positive health promotion and social health, the topic of the regulation of television food advertising is not debated more widely. The need for establishing guidelines has been endorsed repeatedly by the NHMRC, the Better Health Commission and consumer organisations. The Nutrition Strategic Plan of the National Better Health Program included formulating guidelines for television food advertising to children as their twelfth and last priority for future funding. It will be interesting to see what funding the issue finally does attract. Many think it has been put in the "too-hard'' basket for too long. especially when a recent report by the NHMRC subcommittee on nutrition education continues to acknowledge that the media and particularly television are more powerful in determining children's food preferences than anything else, including family example.1D If funding is not forthcoming the AANA will perceive it as an indication that the Department of Health has few concerns with the present food advertising situation.

People d o continue to be uneasy about television food advertising. A recent survey showed that no fewer than 72 per cent of adults favoured government intervention to restrict food advertising to children as a means of improving

nutritional health." However, there i s little opportunity for extending this public interest into community participation in the formulation of Codes or in the system of dealing with complaints and appeals through the Media Council of Australia. In addition, the vocal protest, if not the concern over children's food advertising appears to have diminished since the mid-80s. The reasons are many and varied. Perhaps some agencies and individuals felt powerless to effect real change. Perhaps those in the public health area have been concentrating their energies on smoking and alcohol advertising. Perhaps self-regulation was perceived as working.

This study provides data on the present extent and content of television food advertising. There is evidence that television advertising practices do change radically over time" and. if community- driven political action in support of a better social environment for improving nutritional practice is to be encouraged, it must be based on current. well-publicised findings.

Method Three commercial stations broadcast in

Adelaide: SAS-7. Channel 9 and ADS-10. For one week beginning 3 April 1989. simultaneous video recordings were made of three hours of transmissions (4-6 pm and 7-8 pm) from each station for every weekday. The videotape of each of the 15 three-hour transmissions was viewed and data collected of the number, type and duration of the food advertisements which were shown in the 4-5 pm, the 5-6 pm and the 7-8 pm timeslots.

Each sample was divided into three separate hours in order to determine whether there were any major differences between the pattern of food advertising transmitted in the children's "C" hour (4-5 pm). in the hour immediately following (5-6 pm), and in an early section of peak viewing time (7-8 pm). Both children's and teenagers' viewing now peaks in the latter timeslot, and the programs in the sampling period included such favourite shows as A Country Practice, The Cosby Show, Who's the Boss?, Neighbours and Hey Dad. The data collected provides a valid sampling frame for qualitative analysis and for comparisons of the amount of food advertising found in a similar samples taken earlier.

Results In the 45-hour sample period, there were

417:OO minutes of advertising, made up of 851 separate advertisements (excluding station promotions and community service announcements). Table 1 shows the number and

MORTON 154 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

TABLE 1

Number and duration of advertisements broadcast during 45 houn of 4-5 pm, 5-6 pm and 7-8pm weekday television on Adelaide's three commerclal stations

Channel 4-5 pm 5-6 pm 7-8 pm (15 hours) (15 hours) (15 hours)

number duration number duration number duration

7 76 38:30 128 61:45 114 52:45

9 40 21:15 111 53:45 112 52:15

10 56 27:45 102 52:45 112 56:15

TOTAL 172 8230 341 16815 338 161:15

TABLE 2

Comparison of the total duratioa of advertising, the number of food ads and the rate of food advertising per hour in three 15-hour sampks of "C" hour broodcastlug in 1984,1986 and 1989

~~ ~~

Sample date Total duration Total number of Number of food

1984 7940 38 2.5

1986 3915 44 2.9

1989 87:30 130 8.6

of pdvertlslng food ads ads per hour

duration of advertisements broadcast by each station. There is a large difference in the number of advertisements in the "C" hour and those broadcast later. The total permitted advertising time for the 15 hours of "C" transmission is 150 minutes, yet this sample contains only 87:30 minutes, or just over half the timespan permitted. There are differences between channels in this respect, with Channel 9 attracting the least number of advertisers; but no station sold all its available advertising space at this time. Either this indicates a decrease in the enthusiasm for using the indirect approach to address the spending power of adults through financially dependent children, or it reflects the recognition that this timeslot has a small audience and that more children and adults are watching at other times. Submissions from food companies to the ABT suggest that the latter is true, and they are very keen to advertise in children's programs which attract bigger audiences than at present.

MORTON 155

It can be seen that the low level of advertising in the "C" hour (87:30) was different from the two later timeslot hours, when the programs are less directly aimed at children. These contained similar amounts of 168:lS and 161:15 minutes of advertising. almost double the "C" hour level. The timeslot most attractive to advertisers was that between 5-6 pm on Channel 7, during the daily broadcast of Wheel of Fortune and Family Ties. Even so, at 61:45 minutes of advertising over five days, it may be noted, this does not exceed the pre-deregulation advertising time limit in this timeslot.

Of the 851 advertisements in the 45-hour sample, 412 were for foods and 130 of these were shown in the "C" hour. Table 2 compares the amount of advertising in the "C" hour in samples from 1984,' 1986" and 1989. The number of food advertisements and the rate per hour are also shown. It can be seen that, after a dramatic drop in 1986 "C" hour advertising has risen again in

COMUWNITY HEALTH STUDIES

TABLE 3

Food advertlsements as a percentage of all advertlsements, by timeslot

" C" hour 5-6 pm 7-8 pm Total

Numberofdads 172 341 338 85 1

Number of food ads 130 156 126 412

Percentage of food ads 76% 46% 37% 48%

TABLE 4

Number of food 8dvertisements, by food category and theslot

Product 4-5 pm 5 4 pm 7-8 pm Total %Pge

Chocolate and c o n f s c t i o ~

Food savices & restammts

Breakfastcereals

Drinks and drink mixes

Miscellanmus: meat, beans. soup

Rice and baked goods

Margarine and butter

Cheese and yoghurt

chipsand-

mAL

30

24

37

22

11

0

0

5

1

130

31

35

13

33

13

11

12

1

7

156

21

13

21

15

22

10

6

8

10

126

82

72

71

70

46

21

18

14

18

412

19.9

17.4

17.2

17.0

11.2

5.1

4.4

3.4

4.4

100.0

1989 to a higher level than 1984. The number of food advertisements has shown a different pattern, with a continuous rise (perhaps after the initial response to the NHMRC recommendations) from 2.5 and 2.9 per hour to 8.6 advertisements per hour in 1989.

Turning back to the present sample, Table 3 shows how food advertising as a percentage of all advertising varies from 37 per cent in the 7-8 pm timeslot to 76 per cent in the "C" hour. Of the 851 advertisements 412. or 48.4 per cent were for foodstuffs, and they were broadcast at an average rate of 9.1 advertisements per hour.

Table 4 examines the types of food advertised in the three separate hours. It can be. seen that the four main categories, Chocolate and Confectionery, Food Services and Restaurants, Breakfast Cereals, and D r i n k s and Drink Mixes are spread over the three timeslots. using 71 per cent of the total food advertising time.

The distribution of food advertising across the timeslots was fairly equal. There were most food advertisements (156) in the 5-6 pm slot, closely followed by 130 and 126 in the other two slots. Although no single category of foodstuff dominated greatly in any timeslot, more breakfast

MORON 156 COMMVNlTY HEALTH STUDIES

TABLE 5

Number of food advertisements, by channel and theslot

Tlmeslot Ch. 7 Ch. 9 Ch. 10 Total

4-5 pm 59 19 52 130

5-6 p t ~ ~ 51 48 57 156

7-8 PITI 39 37 50 126

TOTAL 149 104 159 412

cereal advertisements appeared in the "C" hour and advertisements for foodstuffs with less appeal for children (rice, margarine) were dusted away from it. Food cervices and drinks were both heavily advertised between 5 and 6 pm. and chocolate and confectionery in large numbers from 4 to 6 pm.

Table 5 supplies additional information about the distribution of food advertising between the three channels at different times. It can be seen that there were no striking differences between channels in the number of food advertisements transmitted. ADS-I0 led the field with 159 food advertisements in the 15 hours monitored (10.6 per hour); SAS-7 came next with 149 (9.9 per hour) and Channel 9 came last with 104 (6.9 per hour).

Dlscusdon Advertisers maintain that there is

insufficient evidence to prove conclusively that television food advertising adversely influences children's diets, though none seriously question that it increases sales. In Australia, which has been labelled "one of the most advertising- saturated societies in the world,"l' the most ubiquitous of all advertisements are those for processed foods and confectionery: the food industry not only spends more on advertising than any other, but spends more than do the next two largest categories - motor vehicles and tourism - put together. Much of this expenditure flows into television food advertising campaigns which can almost guarantee the company direct access to almost every child in the country over the age of two. As an example of the money involved. Pepsi- Cola and Coca-CoIa were reported in the press to be spending $30 million in advertising in 1990 to maintain and increase their stakes in the lucrative cola drink market.

According to the NHMRC, "to try to develop a healthy community without acknowledging the power of the media is to ignore one of the most potent influences in our society."" Study after study has proven this. When Crawford and Selwood asked high school students to select the most important source of nutrition information. more students selected the media than parents as their major source.'' When Burke et al surveyed the nutrition views of 1000 9-10 year olds in Sydney, just over half thought that Ronald McDonald probably knows best what is good for children to eat." In the US, the lower the socioeconomic background of the child, the higher the hours of TV viewing and the greater the consumption of heavily-advertised food." The same is true of Australia but whether a causal relationship exists between these factors has not been conclusively demonstrated. No study has claimed to show a direct causal link betwem diet and quantity of food advertising seen, except perhaps for a study by Diem which claimed that each additional hour of television watched caused the incidence of obesity to increase by 2 per cent.' Other researchers have found evidence that high viewers are significantly more likely than light viewers to have eaten recently items in a list of well-advertised foods, and that children who watch more than three hours a day have poorer nutrition knowledge and less sound eating habits than those who watched less.' This is despite the fact that no correlation can be found between high viewing and high recall of the content of advertisements by young adolescents: light viewers still had excellent recall, which is exactly what the advertisers aim for." However, another study found that the deception effects of advertisements, if not the recall of them, increased with intensive viewing, irrespective of skepticism and age." In laboratory experiments, social psychologists have found that children reported

MORTON 157 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

more temptation to transgress and eat "forbidden" food after a commercial for a low nutrient food than after one for a product of high nutritional value.= Other researchers have found a positive correlation between the mount of snacking while watching television and requests for advertised foods." Although the case against the television advertising of food to children i s largely circumstantial. nutritionists and the public at large have strongly condemned the lack of controls which permit an unlimited quantity of advertisements for foods which cannot form the basis of a healthy diet.

The most notable finding of this survey is the remarkable increase in food advertising as a proportion of all advertising: at 48 per cent, the proportion is now higher than ever reported before and is double the figure reported in 1984. In fact, if the 7-8 pm timeslot be excluded to give a sample comparable to previous studies, the proportion is even higher. 56 per cent. Since a content analysis shows this advertising to be mostly for the same narrow range of foods as formerly, then the same advertising practices which were castigated by the NHMRC as "undesirable" in 1981 with levels of 42-44 per cent are flourishing today. more than ever, and the present passivity is inappropriate.

The picture is even worse in the "C" hour: there, food advertisements accounted for 76 per cent of the total. whereas the proportion fell away to 46 per cent of the total in the 5-6 pm slot, and to 37 per cent in the 7-8 pm slot. Remarkably, the 52 food advertisements broadcast on ADS-10 in the "C" hour comprised no less than 93 per cent of the total; in addition, the program from 44.30 pm (Double Dare) was itself sponsored by two of the largest food advertisers, Kelloggs and McDonald's. In the "C" hour most of the 130 advertisements were for chocolate bars, one fast- food restaurant, two heavily-sugared breakfast cereals, and a milk flavouring. Unexpectedly, there was only one advertisement for crisps, and, more predictably, very few for staple foods.

Chocolate and confectionery were the most heavily advertised food products in this sample, with 30 advertisements in the "C" hour followed by 31 and 21 in the later hours. There were 16 different products advertised, of which over half were for chocolate products high in fat, sugar and energy. Compared with samplings in previous years, the proportion of advertisements promoting chocolate and confectionery was lower, having been replaced by soft drink and fast food advertising, but the types of products and the way they were advertised showed little change. Most foods were sold as fun products,

with no pretence that they could form part of a balanced diet.

The Food Services & Restaurants group was the next largest category. Predictably, only four of the advertisements were for restaurants which did not sell fast food. The rest were for restaurants which appeal to children, with 25 for Hungry Jack's, 26 for McDonald's and 15 for pizza restaurants. The 5-6 pm timeslot. round about dinner-time, was the most popular for fast-food advertisements overall. McDonald's used two child-directed advertisements in the "C" slot and. predictably, concentrated on their "new" salads in the later slots. Here again the usual sales pitch was fun and lifestyle rather than nutritional claims. All foods were high in fat and energy, posing a threat to health if consumed unwisely. The number of fast food advertisements, at 17 per cent of all food advertisements, has risen sharply since 1984, when they formed only 6 per cent. Clever marketing has made fast food restaurants an integral part of life for many people, and advertising a i m s to maintain this.

Breakfast cereals were one of the first great value-added food products to be advertised heavily to children and were therefore the target of much early criticism." Most breakfast cereal advertisements appeared in the "C" hour (37) followed by the peak time (21), but more noteworthy is how different are the types of cereal which are being sold at each time. The 32 advertisements for two heavily sugared cereals, Frosties and Rice Bubbles were clearly targeting children: they used animation and special effects as well as 'bottom' humour designed to appeal to young children. Neither advertisement appeared anywhere outside the "C" hour. On the other hand, cereal advertisements which made nutrition claims (low in fat, sugar, calories and cholesterol; high in fibre, iron and B-vitamins, etcetera) dominated the later slots, especially between 7-8 Pm.

Here, as elsewhere, we see a tendency for health and nutrition issues to be co-opted by advertising agencies, who are including nutrition messages practically unheard-of even five years ago. The advertising of breakfast cereals is an example of how this can mislead as well as inform, with high-fat toasted (more accurately, fried) cereals being sold on their fibre content while minimally processed cereals genuinely low in fat and sugar are sold with the same health message. There is evidence that health messages are readily recalled by children, suggesting that advertising could promote positive health behaviors if the picture were not clouded by misleading claims.1' Co-operation between

MORTON 158 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

nutritionists and the food industry has brought some healthy and profitable products to market. giving the informed and motivated consumer better choices.- The manufacturers of breakfast cereals assert rightly that these can be a valuable component of the diet; unfortunately the ones they choose to advertise to children are exclusively the highly processed, high sugar varieties.

Drinks was the last of the four heavily advertised products. There had been a large increase in drink advertisements, from 4 per cent of the total in 1984 to 17 per cent in this sample. The premise that young consumers have great brand loyalty to their favourite soft drink has produced an expensive advertising war over the last few years. Half the advertisements in the Drinks category were for soft drinks, and they were advertised across the timeslots. There were no nutrition messages and few mentions of taste. The images are those of attractive, confident adolescents of both sexes, supremely comfortable with their peers and living life to the full. The drink is presented as a fashionable accessory in living this life. This is, of course, the very reverse of the experience of many adolescents: as one media commentator puts it, "for the great majority of adolescents, however, the fun-loving fantasy never materialises. All they ever get is the commodity.'"

To summarise, almost all of the advertisements mentioned above are selling highly processed foods, yet all employ images and words to give the impression of simplicity, freshness and naturalness. Most show healthy, active people at play. Very few foods are beiig seriously promoted on their nutritional virtues, though some advertisements mention particular nutrients such as protein, iron. vitamins and fibre. Many mention energy. However, the overall picture is misleading rather than informative. Advertisers are not averse to using terms like "natural cane sugar" or "wholesome goodness" when referring to chocolate products.

The other advertisements in the sample included ones for margarine, which outnumbered those for butter.The new low-fat varieties predominated and were sold with a health message directed at adults in the later timeslots. There were also some advertisements for fresh and minimally processed foods. In this sample, the advertisements for baked beans, peanut butter, nuts, lamb, steak, rice. bread, plain milk, cheese and yoghurt fell into this category; but they totalled only 50 in all, or 13 per cent of the total, and few were in the children's hour. Such advertisements have started to appear in greater numbers: a trend which deserves encouragement.

There were also 8 diet-related Community Service Announcements, including ones for Life Be In It. vitamins and dental hygiene: fewer than one for every five hours of viewing.

For the social nutritionist. the virtues of any specific product and how it is marketed are less interesting than the implicit messages of all food advertisements; that is, the lifestyle and values that they promote collectively. More broadly, while community campaigns emphasise restraint and encourage moderation or the ability to say no, the media promotes a higher and higher consumptiontion of 'fun food' products and, often, lifestyles which compromise the health of the individual. The overall message is simply "Go for it."=

Concluslon Over the last few decades thousands of new

foodstuffs have come on to the market, but almost no new staples. The overwhelming majority are value-added, highly processed manufactured foods of variable and often dubious nutritional merit. Many are aimed at children.- The eating patterns of Australian children are similar to those of adults, but on some criteria even worse. The effects are manifest in the health statistics: more than half of all children have a higher blood cholesterol level than is deemed advisable, and a third are overweight.m

Various proposals have been put forward over the years to improve the television "food environment". One obvious strategy is to ban, partially or fully, television food advertising to children. Quebec now prohibits any kind of advertising when children under 13 years comprise 15 per cent or more of the audience. According to the Supreme Court of Canada, "freedom of speech for advertisers ends at a point where their manipulative sales pitches reach the impressionable minds of children."" However, Australians who have been raised in the tradition of the 'fair go' might argue that such a pronouncement smacks too much of the 'Nanny State' mentality. Other possible strategies are the use of disclaimers. equal time for positive nutrition messages. subsidies to fresh food producers who will develop and screen advertisements, legislation or agreement to set a ratio between advertisements for processed and minimally processed foods, pro-nutrition programming, etcetera.

With the demise of the strong protest movements of the 70s and the limited success of small advocacy groups, much emphasis has been placed on school and community nutrition education approaches which aim for widespread

MORTON 159 COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

attitude and behaviour change. There is community support for health education programs in schools, with 87 per cent of parents in favour of them.- One aim of nutrition education programs is to arouse skepticism over the aims and goals of food advertising. However, this approach may be viewed as a 'band-aid' solution while the root of the problem remains unchanged. According to the ecological approach to eating behaviour. programs which aim to encourage eating behaviour based on the dietary guidelines are likely to be seriously compromised in the absence of a facilitating social environment.

This study shows that, with a few variations and a few recent improvements outside the "C" hour, television food advertising is much as it has always been, except that the sales pitch to children has grown more insistent than ever

before. Nor is it any more socially responsible. It is alarming that, on one station, practically every one of the commercial messages seen in an hour specifically reserved for children is for a food or food service which is either neutral with respect to the Australian Dietary Guidelines or runs distinctly counter to them. And it is equally striking that, in the "C" hour (unlike later hours) very few advertisements shown on any channel had nutri t ion information included in them. From the perspective of the New Public Health this sort of detail ought to be triggering community debate: it is no trivial matter when television is now providing nearly all Australians with the most frequent, the most systematic, and the most memorable nutrition education that they will ever receive.

References

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I .

Commonwealth Department of Health. Dietary Guidelines for Australians. Canberra: AGPS. 1983. Better Health Commission. Looking Forward to Better Health. Vol 1: Final Report Canbema: AGPS. 1986. National Health and Medical Research council. Report of the working party on television advertising of foods directed to children. Canberra: AGPS, 1981. Morton HN. The television advertising of foods to children: a South Australian study. J Food and Nutr 1984; 41:170-175. Further references in the text to "1984" refer to this study, which used a 30-hour sample (4-6 pm from three stations over five weekdays in June 1984). Morton HN. Television and the acculturation of children: an analysis of a sample of non-pmgram material. J Home Economics Association of Australia 1989;

Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. Children's television standards 1989. An inquiry conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal to review the children's and preschool children's television standards. Sydney: ABT, November 1989. Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. Children's television standards: Decisions and reasons report. Sydney: ABT. 1989; Appendix B .

21:66-70.

MORTON

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

160

Fabes RA, Wilson P, Christopher FS. A time to re-examine the role of television in family life. Family Relations 1989; 38:337-341. Cole-Hamilton I, Lang T. Tightening belts: A report on the impact of poverty on food. London: The London Food Commission. 1987. National Health and Medical Research Council. Implementing the dietary guidelines for Australians. Report of the subcommittee on nutrition education. Canberra: AGPS. 1989. Baghurst K, Crawford D. Attitudes of South Australians to government interventions to improve nutritional health. Adelaide: Human Nutrition Section CSIRO. Unpublished data, 1988. Condry 3, Bence P, Scheibe C. Non- program content of children's television. J Broadcasting and the Electronic Media

Morton HN. The values of children's television advertising: a South Australian study. Proceedings of the 8th International Home Economics Research Conference. Glasgow: IHERC, 1986. Further references in the text to "1986" refer to this study. which used a 30-hour sample (4-6 pm from three stations over five weekdays in April 1986). Windschuttle K. The Media: a New Analysis of the Press, Television. Radio and Advertising in Australia. 3rd edition. Ringwood: Penguin, 1988; 4-5,60.

1988; 32,3:244-270.

COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

National Health and Medical Research Council. The media and public health. Canberra: AGPS, 1985. Crawford M, Selwood T. The nutritional knowledge of Melbourne high school students. J Food and Nutr 1983; 40:25-34. Burke J. Agardy S. Fricker M. Biles J. Children. television and food. Melbourne: Australian Broadcasting Tribunal Research Branch, 1982. Giudicatti V, Stenning B. Socioeconomic background and children's cognitive abilities i n relation to television advertisements. J Psych 1980; 106:153- 155. Dietz WH. Cortmaker SL. Do we fatten our children at the television set? Obesity and television viewing in children and adolescents. Pediatr 1985; 75807-812. Doolittle J. Pepper R. Children's TV ad content: 1974. J Broadcasting 1975;

Morton HN. Children's attitudes to television food advertising. Proc Nutr SOC Aust 1989; 14:130. Ross RP. Campbell T. Huston-Stein A. Wright JC. Nutritional misinformation of children: a developmental and experimental analysis of the effects of television food commercials. J App Devel

Dawson BL. Jeffrey DB. Walsh JA. Television food commercials' effect on children's resistance to temptations. J App

30: 13 1 - 142.

Psych 1981; 1:329-347.

SOC Psych 1988; 18~1353-1360.

MORTON

24.

25.

26.

27. 28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

161

Taras HL. Sallis JF, Patterson TL et al. Television's influence on children's diet and physical activity. J Behav Pediatr 1989;

Barcus FE, McLaughlin L. Food advertising on children's television: an analysis of appeals and nutritional content. Newtonville. Mass: Action for Children's Television, 1978. Beard TC, Farrace I. Danger of overmedication with no-added-salt diets. Med JAust 1987; 147:46-47. Windschuttle K. Op. Cit. 216. Wallack L. Stimulating accurate health information in the media: barriers to change. Media Information Australia 1988;

South Australian Health Commission. Discussion Paper: Towards a South Australian Health Commission Food and Nutrition Policy. Adelaide: Food and Nutrition Policy Planning & Policy Development Division, SA Health Commission, 1989. Department of Community Services and Health. National dietary survey of school children (aged 10-15 years). Canberra: AGPS, 1988. Biggins B. Television advertising to kids: Canada's Supreme Court shows us the way. Small Screen 1989; 351-2. Worsley A. Coonan W. Parents' views of primary school subjects: a pilot study. Adelaide: CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition. 1982.

10:176-180.

49~13-16.

COMMUNITY HEALTH STUDIES