Racial/ethnic and income disparities in child and adolescent exposure to food and beverage television ads across the U.S. media markets.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Powell, Lisa M; Wada, Roy; Kumanyika, Shiriki K
- Source
- Health & Place (HEALTH PLACE), Sep2014; 29: 124-131. (8p)
- Subject
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1353-8292
Obesity prevalence and related health burdens are greater among U.S. racial/ethnic minority and low-income populations. Targeted advertising may contribute to disparities. Designated market area (DMA) spot television ratings were used to assess geographic differences in child/adolescent exposure to food-related advertisements based on DMA-level racial/ethnic and income characteristics. Controlling for unobserved DMA-level factors and time trends, child/adolescent exposure to food-related ads, particularly for sugar-sweetened beverages and fast-food restaurants, was significantly higher in areas with higher proportions of black children/adolescents and lower-income households. Geographically targeted TV ads are important to consider when assessing obesity-promoting influences in black and low-income neighborhoods.