Influence of advertising on children's food choices

Objective: To verify the influence of advertising on children's food choices.Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional and quantitative study, in which data collection was carried out in the state of Parana using an online questionnaire answered by parents about their children's eating habits. Three questionnaires were applied to assess the profile of parents and children, children's eating habits and how much they are daily exposed to television, social networks and internet videos. Results: 45 parents of children aged between 5 and 13 years participated in the research. As for nutritional status, there was a prevalence of overweight both in parents and children. Regarding food consumption, it was observed that children whose parents consider their diet to be healthy consumed more fruits and vegetables than other children (p<0.05). As for the time of exposure to the media, children whose parents consider their diet to be less healthy watch more videos on the internet than the others (p=0.030). Conclusion: There is an influence of advertising on children's eating habits. Parents reported that children feel the desire to buy a certain food because of the character or gift related to the product. Of these, most consume the purchased food. As most of the foods advertised in advertising aimed at children are foods with low nutritional value, the habit can increase the rates of overweight and obesity.