Perception and Impact of Food and Beverage Marketing on Children’s Eating Behaviors and Associated Health Issues

Background and objective: Children are more susceptible to food and beverage marketing than adults, but little is known about the specific effects of marketing through the media most used by children. This study aims to discover variables that can help inform childhood obesity prevention strategies. Our findings indicate an association between food advertisements and children's consumption, evidencing a need for the concerned authorities to create strict guidelines that consider the nutritional value of advertised foods. This study aims to study the attitudes and practices of children related to their preference for unhealthy meals due to food marketing and their association with childhood obesity. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of randomly selected guardians of children who were screened for obesity. A structured questionnaire was given to the children's parents. Results: The study found that most of the participants' children prefer fast food (291, 78.0%), eat healthy meals (287, 76.9%), and eat fruits and vegetables every day (198, 53.1%). Furthermore, most participants (340, 91.2%) indicated that they were aware of unhealthy diets, and 105 (28.2%) said their children were overweight. Most participants (326, 87.4%) also indicated that watching television (TV) was associated with eating high-calorie foods. Conclusions: There is strong evidence that children exposed to food marketing develop attitudes about and choose unlimited healthy food and unhealthy foods, which negatively impacts their health. It is recommended that future research employs a wide range of methodologies to study contemporaneous marketing strategies.