Television food and beverage marketing to children in Costa Rica: current state and policy implications.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the frequency of television (TV) food and beverage advertisements (F&B ads) to which children (4-11 years) are likely exposed and the nutrient profile of products advertised. DESIGN: TV broadcasting between September and November 2016 was recorded (288 h of children's programming; 288 h of family programming) resulting in 8980 advertisements, of which 1862 were F&B ads. Of those, 1473 could be classified into one of the seventeen food groups, and into permitted/non-permitted according to the WHO-EU nutrient profile model. Persuasive marketing techniques used were also identified. SETTING: TV programming was recorded for four weekdays and four weekend days, between 06.00 and 00.00 hours (576 total hours), for four channels (two national and two cable), in Costa Rica. RESULTS: Mean (sd) number of F&B ads/h was greater in cable than national channels (3·7 (0·4) v. 2·8 (0·4), P < 0·05) and during children's peak viewing hours (4·4 (0·4) v. 2·9 (0·3)). Of F&B ads classified with WHO-EU nutrient profile model (n 1473, 71·1 %), 91·1 % were non-permitted to be marketed to children. Categories most frequently advertised were ready-made/convenience foods (16 %), chocolates/confectionery/desserts (15 %), breakfast cereals (14 %), beverages (15 %), edible ices (9 %) and salty snacks (8 %). Non-permitted F&B ads were more likely to use promotional characters, brand benefit claims, and nutrition and health claims than permitted F&B ads. CONCLUSIONS: Children watching popular TV channels in Costa Rica are exposed to a high number of unhealthy F&B ads daily. Our findings help justify the need for regulatory actions by national authorities.

Global benchmarking of children's exposure to television advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages across 22 countries.

Restricting children's exposures to marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages is a global obesity prevention priority. Monitoring marketing exposures supports informed policymaking. This study presents a global overview of children's television advertising exposure to healthy and unhealthy products. Twenty-two countries contributed data, captured between 2008 and 2017. Advertisements were coded for the nature of foods and beverages, using the 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) Europe Nutrient Profile Model (should be permitted/not-permitted to be advertised). Peak viewing times were defined as the top five hour timeslots for children. On average, there were four times more advertisements for foods/beverages that should not be permitted than for permitted foods/beverages. The frequency of food/beverages advertisements that should not be permitted per hour was higher during peak viewing times compared with other times (P < 0.001). During peak viewing times, food and beverage advertisements that should not be permitted were higher in countries with industry self-regulatory programmes for responsible advertising compared with countries with no policies. Globally, children are exposed to a large volume of television advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages, despite the implementation of food industry programmes. Governments should enact regulation to protect children from television advertising of unhealthy products that undermine their health.

El impacto de una capacitación en nutrición sobre alimentación especializada, para el personal del servicio de alimentación del Ministerio de Justicia y Paz / The impact of a nutritional training on specialized nutrition for the foodservice staff of the Ministerio de Justicia y Paz

ResumenObjetivo:Mejorar el conocimiento del personal del servicio de alimentación y cocina de centros penitenciarios, sobre recomendaciones nutricionales en los casos especiales de salud, que más afectan a los privados de libertad.Metodología:Estudio cuasi-experimental, realizado en ocho centros penitenciarios del Área Metropolitana. Se utilizó un formulario semi-estructurado, como método de recolección de datos para la etapa de diagnóstico y la etapa posterior a las capacitaciones, con el objetivo de medir el impacto de las mismas. Se utilizó la prueba estadística de McNemar para evaluar diferencias significativas. Los resultados del diagnóstico sirvieron como base para determinar la metodología y temas a incluir en las capacitaciones.Resultados:La muestra consistió en 42 miembros del personal de cocina. Se desarrollaron capacitaciones sobre alimentación especializada en cuatro temas claves (hipertensión arterial, diabetes mellitus, alimentación tipo papilla y alimentación tipo blanda), en los cuales se encontró un mayor déficit de conocimiento durante la etapa de diagnóstico. Para dichas sesiones, se elaboraron materiales educativos (desplegables, manuales y rotafolios) acorde con las necesidades y preferencias del grupo de estudio. Posterior a las sesiones educativas, se logró observar un aumento significativo en el conocimiento sobre alimentación especializada por parte del personal de cocina gracias a la aplicación estadística del Test de McNemar.Discusión:La elaboración de este estudio provee evidencia sobre el déficit de conocimiento en personal de cocina de los 8 centros penitenciarios, sobre temas de alimentación especializada. A su vez, demuestra que las capacitaciones son una forma eficaz de transmitir el conocimiento en temas de nutrición.

AbstractObjective:Improve the knowledge of foodservice staff on the importance of healthy eating in different health situations that most affects people in custody of Penitentiary Centers from the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica.Methodology:Quasi-experimental study was developed in eight penitentiary centers from the Metropolitan Area. A semi-structured survey was created to collect data pre and post training with the aim of measuring impact. McNemar Test was used to evaluate significant differences. Data obtained in the pre training stage was used to develop topics included in the training.Results:Sample consisted of 42 members of kitchen staff. Four main topics were addressed (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, pap feeding, and soft feeding), were the biggest gap in knowledge was found during pre-training stage. For the sessions, educational materials (leaflets, manuals and flipcharts) were created, according to the needs and preferences of the sample. After the training sessions, a significant increase in knowledge about specialized feeding by the foodservice staff was observed.Discussion:the development of this study provides evidence about a gap in knowledge about heathy eating in different health situations by the kitchen staff from 8 penitentiary centers. This study acknowledges the importance of training as an effective way to improve knowledge in nutritional topics.