Maternal and Child Health Library

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August 4, 2006

1. REPORT ANALYZES CONTENT OF ONLINE FOOD MARKETING TO CHILDREN

It’s Child’s Play: Advergaming and the Online Marketing of Food to Children provides a systematic analysis of the content of online food marketing to children. The report, published by the Kaiser Family Foundation, focuses on a study of corporate Web sites that either target children directly or contain content that would likely be of interest to children under age 12. The study investigated general aspects of the Web sites, specific details about a brand's presence on the sites, and each game that is available on the sites. The discussion of specific findings is organized into seven major topics: (1) "advergames," defined as advertiser-sponsored video games with embedded brand messages; (2) the overall level of brand exposures children experience on the sites and the relationship of these brands to nutritional information and claims that also appear on the sites; (3) marketers' efforts to customize visitors' experiences; (4) the use of marketing partnerships or brand alliances on the sites, (5) educational activities, (6) specific methods used to extend the online experience beyond the site visit and the prevalence of these methods, and (7) evidence relevant to existing Web site protections for children. A summary and conclusions are also presented. The report is intended to help policymakers, advocates, and those in the food industry understand the nature and scope of the online environment children face. The report and a webcast of a roundtable discussion featuring food industry leaders, government health officials, and consumer advocates are available at http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia071906pkg.cfm.

• Of the 3,412 mothers who completed the 2- to 4- and 30- to 33-month interviews and provided depressive symptom data, mothers with depressive symptoms at 2 to 4 months had reduced odds of always using a car safety seat, lowering the hot water temperature, playing with the child, and being more nurturing at 30 to 33 months, compared with mothers without depressive symptoms at 2 to 4 months.
• Mothers with depressive symptoms at 30 to 33 months had reduced odds of using electric outlet covers, having safety latches on cabinets, talking with infant, limiting television or videotape watching, following two or more routines, and being more nurturing at 30 to 33 months, compared with mothers without depressive symptoms at 30 to 33 months.
• The adjusted odds for using all three of the discipline practices (uses more reasoning, uses more harsh punishment, and ever slapped or spanked) at 30 to 33 months were not significantly different for mothers with and without depressive symptoms at 2 to 4 months.
• Mothers with depressive symptoms at 30 to 33 months had more than twice the odds of slapping a child in the face or spanking with an object and of using harsher discipline practices at 30 to 33 months than mothers without depressive symptoms at 30 to 33 months.

• The overall response rate was 76%, without significant differences between rural and urban schools.
• More than one-third (39%) of school nurses rated their communication with physicians as poor or very poor.
• Urban nurses were significantly more likely than rural nurses to rate their communication with physicians as poor or very poor.
• When asked about obstacles to asthma management in schools, about half of both rural and urban nurses identified lack of communication with physicians as a significant barrier. Close to half of the nurses in each setting also noted lack of communication with parents as an obstacle.
• Only about half of rural and urban nurses reported asthma-education programs in their schools.
• Forty-three percent of rural and 32% of urban nurses reported attending an asthma-education program during the current school year, and about three-quarters of each group expressed interest in additional educational programming.
• Thirty-eight percent of nurses offered suggestions for improving asthma management in their schools, mainly in three topic areas: (1) increased school nursing coverage, (2) increased education about asthma for students, teachers, parents, and some community physicians; and (3) improved cooperation of parents in providing information from physicians.