Background
Children who eat fast food have poor diet and health outcomes. Fast food is heavily
marketed to youth, and exposure to such marketing is associated with higher fast food
consumption.
Purpose
To examine the extent of child-directed marketing (CDM) inside and on the exterior
of fast food restaurants.
Methods
Data were collected from 6,716 fast food restaurants located in a nationally representative
sample of public middle- and high-school enrollment areas in 2010, 2011, and 2012.
CDM was defined as the presence of one or more of seven components inside or on the
exterior of the restaurant. Analyses were conducted in 2014.
Results
More than 20% of fast food restaurants used CDM inside or on their exterior. In multivariate
analyses, fast food restaurants that were part of a chain, offered kids’ meals, were
located in middle- (compared to high)-income neighborhoods, and in rural (compared
to urban) areas had significantly higher odds of using any CDM; chain restaurants
and those located in majority black neighborhoods (compared to white) had significantly
higher odds of having an indoor display of kids’ meal toys. Compared to 2010, there
was a significant decline in use of CDM in 2011, but the prevalence increased close
to the 2010 level in 2012.
Conclusions
CDM inside and on the exterior of fast food restaurants is prevalent in chain restaurants;
majority black communities, rural areas, and middle-income communities are disproportionately
exposed. The fast food industry should limit children’s exposure to marketing that
promotes unhealthy food choices.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: October 29, 2014
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
