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 Students munching on junk food
available to them through school canteens and cafeterias. at a school in Moga. A Tribune
photograph.
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!
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 Somewhat Neither Somewhat Very Don’t

unhealthy unhealthy healthy nor healthy healthy know
unhealthy

30%

yes
no

70%

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/ Buses Newspapers Shops Internet

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

Advertisement effectiveness Background

Price Brand Ambassador

Age Advertisement Background Price Brand

effectiveness 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