Giving the wrong impression: food and beverage brand impressions delivered to youth through popular movies.

BACKGROUND: Marketing on television showcases less-healthful options, with emerging research suggesting movies promote similar products. Given the obesity epidemic, understanding advertising to youth should be a public health imperative. The objective of this study was to estimate youth impressions to food and beverages delivered through movies. METHODS: Impressions were calculated by dividing US receipts annually into average movie ticket prices, then multiplying this by the number of brand appearances. Examination by ratings, product types and ages were conducted by Spearman rank correlation coefficient tests. RESULTS: Youth in the USA saw over 3 billion food, beverage or food-retail establishment (FRE) impressions on average, annually from 1996 to 2005. Those aged 12-18 viewed over half of all impressions, with PG-13-rated movies containing 61.5% of impressions. There were no significant trends in brand appearances by food, beverage or FRE impressions over the decade, although there was a decreasing trend in R-rated impressions for both foods (P< 0.01) and beverages (P< 0.01), but not FREs (P= 0.08). CONCLUSIONS: Movies promote billions of food and beverage impressions annually to youth. Given the public health crisis of obesity, future research should further investigate these trends, as well as the potential association of these unhealthy exposures in youth.

A comparison of subjective and objective measures of physical exertion.

Better methods are needed to improve validity and reliability of physical activity (PA) assessment instruments. The purpose of this study was to compare individual's Borg's Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scores to GT1M ActiGraph accelerometer output, with the aim to better understand estimates of perceived exertion for exercise prescription. Adults were recruited (n = 117) from Utah, with 43.1% males (n = 50), and most (53.1%) self-reporting regular exercise. Participants performed three indoor laps of increasing intensity, ranging from walking to running, and immediately completed a RPE form. A subsample was mailed the same RPE survey 6-8 weeks later to compare differences from their initial responses. Individual accelerometer data was compared to RPE levels from validated metabolic equivalents (METs). There were significant differences between the RPE ratings and the accelerometer output overall for gender (χ(2) = 10.9, P = 0.004), and exercise status (χ(2) = 15.5, P < 0.001). The odds of underestimating RPE for an exerciser were 3.67 times greater than a non-exerciser (95% CI = 1.48, 9.11). The subsample also underestimated RPE after the time lapse (Z = -2.324, P = 0.020). Overall, the RPE proved to be a useful tool for most individuals and could be used in individualised exercise prescription, although women may overestimate, and regular exercisers may underestimate exertion.

Tween sex differences in snacking preferences during television viewing.

Television viewing is associated with an increased risk in childhood obesity. Research surrounding food habits of tweens largely bypasses snacking preferences while watching television in the home. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe snacking prevalence by tween sex and to describe parental rules surrounding snacking while watching television at home. Survey data were obtained in 2008 from 4th- through 6th-grade students (n=1,557) who attended 12 New England schools. Complete self-reported measures (n=1,448) included demographics, household and bedroom television ownership, television watching frequency, snacking prevalence, snacking preferences, and parental rules regarding snacking while watching television. Comparisons were generated using χ(2) analyses. Overall, the majority of children (69.2%) snacked "sometimes" or "always" during television viewing, with the majority of responses (62.9%) categorized as foods. The most popular food snacks for both sexes in this sample were salty snacks (47.9%), with fruits and vegetables ranking a distant second (18.4%). Girls (22.6%) selected fruits and vegetables more frequently than boys (14.7%) (P=0.003). Of those drinking beverages (n=514), boys selected sugar-sweetened beverages more often than girls (43.5% vs 31.7%; P=0.006), and girls chose juice more often than boys (12.3% vs 6.1%; P=0.02). Overall, approximately half (53.2%) of the students consumed less-healthy snacks while watching television. Interventions for parents and both sexes of tweens focusing on healthy snacking choices may have long-term beneficial outcomes.