Study Yale University reveals soft drink makers target teenagers in USA

Study at Yale University reveals soft drink makers target teenagers in USA

A recent study at Yale University Rudd Centre for Food Policy & Obesity has found that the US children and teenagers are seeing more soda advertising than before, especially blacks and
Hispanics being major targets. As the marketers have expanded online, these youngsters are more inclined towards the soft drink ads.

The report has also found that many popular fruit drinks and energy drinks possess as much added sugar and calories as full-calorie soda and the exposure of many children and teens to
full-calorie soda ads on television doubled from 2008 to 2010 was fuelled by increases from Coca-Cola Co and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. It also found that children were exposed to 22 per cent fewer ads for PepsiCo Inc sugary drinks.

The co-author of the report, Yale’s Kelly Brownell said, “Our children are being assaulted by these drinks that are high in sugar and low in nutrition. The companies are marketing them
in highly aggressive ways.”

According to the report, black children and teens saw 80 to 90 per cent more soft and energy drink ads including 5-Hour Energy and Coca-Cola’s vitamin water and Sprite than white children.
On the other hand, Hispanic children saw 49 per cent more ads for sugary drinks and energy drinks on Spanish-language television, and Hispanic teens saw 99 per cent more ads over the same period.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says that due to the use of these drinks, about 15 per cent of children are overweight or obese. The children today are likely to have shorter
life spans than their parents, which will affect their ability to work and pay taxes, while threatening to drive up healthcare costs.

Teens were exposed to 18 per cent more TV ads along with 46 per cent more on radio ads for energy drinks than adults in 2010. The study revealed that 21 sugary drink brands had YouTube
channels in 2010 with more than 229 million views by June 2011 while Coca-Cola was found to be the most popular brand on Facebook, with more than 30 million fans. Websites that were operated by soft drink brands like MyCokeRewards.com and Capri Sun, owned
by Kraft Foods Inc, were most-visited ones.

Other findings in the report said an 8-ounce (225-gram) serving of a full-calorie fruit drink has 110 calories and seven teaspoons of sugar – the same amount found in an 8-ounce serving
of a soda or energy drink.

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Posted by Zeeshan Gohar on Oct 31 2011. Filed under USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry