Finnish children’s exposure to paid-for digital food advertising – The pilot study

Abstract Objective: To test the ‘Investigate Exposure’ step of the WHO’s CLICK framework, and to investigate 12–16-year-old children’s exposure to paid-for digital food advertising in Finland. Design: The DIGITUTKA pilot study was carried out as part of the EU Joint Action Best-ReMap project. Data on paid-for digital food advertising that children were exposed to via their phones over a two-weeks period were captured using the RealityMeter-application, following the ‘Investigate Exposure’ step of the CLICK framework. Data were collected between April and June 2022 and analyzed in Excel, following a protocol outlined by WHO Europe. The WHO Europe Nutrient Profile Model (v1, 2015) was used to determine marketing permission. Setting: Four schools in Finland Participants: 6th-9th grade students (n=34) Results: Out of the 17 820 captured advertisements, 2316 (13%) were identified as food or beverage brands and products. The most commonly advertised products were convenience foods, composite dishes (16%, N=372), and energy drinks (9%, N=202). The majority of the food and beverage advertisements (N=1291, 56%) were not permitted to be marketed to children, with only one in ten (N=222, 9%) was permitted to be marketed to children. A third (35%) of the food and beverage advertisements could not be identified due to missing information. Conclusions: Children were exposed to a large number of food and beverage advertisements, most of which were not permitted to be marketed to children. To protect children’s health and prevent obesity, marketing restrictions should be combined with broader changes to the food environment and taxation.