Abstract
The ubiquity of television in American culture makes it a potential contributor to
the obesogenic (obesity-causing) environment. Televised food advertisements, which
encourage viewers to eat the foods promoted for sale, constitute a de facto set of
dietary endorsements. The purpose of this study was to compare the nutritional content
of food choices endorsed on television to nutritional guidelines. Using a cross-sectional
design, food advertisements were observed during 84 hours of primetime and 12 hours
of Saturday-morning televised broadcast during the fall of 2004. One-sample t tests were used to compare the food group servings of observed food items to the
recommended daily servings and to compare the nutrient content of observed food items
to the Daily Values. Results suggest that a diet consisting of observed food items
would provide 2,560% of the recommended daily servings for sugars, 2,080% of the recommended
daily servings for fat, 40% of the recommended daily servings for vegetables, 32%
of the recommended daily servings for dairy, and 27% of the recommended daily servings
for fruits. The same diet would substantially oversupply protein, total fat, saturated
fat, cholesterol, and sodium, while substantially undersupplying carbohydrates, fiber,
vitamins A, E, and D, pantothenic acid, iron, phosphorous, calcium, magnesium, copper,
and potassium. Overall, the food choices endorsed on television fail to meet nutrition
guidelines and encourage nutritional imbalance.
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Biography
M. Mink is an assistant professor and MPH program coordinator, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah, GA
Biography
A. Evans is associate professor, University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin
Biography
C. G. Moore is associate professor of medicine, Center for Research on Health Care Data Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Biography
K. S. Calderon is director of collaborative grants, MedXcel, Tampa, FL
Biography
S. Deger is a DrPH student, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
September 11,
2009
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Dietetic Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
