April 27th 2007 Food Is Most Advertised Product on TV Viewed by
Kids, Study Finds A new study released by the Kaiser Family
Foundation found that children of all ages are being exposed to
TV commercials for junk foods at an alarming rate. The study
concluded that children 8 to 12 years old viewed the most food
ads, an average of 21 a day or more than 7,600 per year. The
study also examined exposure among other age groups. Teens
viewed approximately 17 food ads per day or over 6,000 a year,
while children ages 2 to 7 saw about 12 ads a day or 4,400 a
year. The study, considered the largest ever done on television
advertising aimed at kids, had researchers look at and analyze
ads during 1,638 hours of TV programming on such networks as
ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, the Cartoon Network, Disney, MTV, and
Nickelodeon. Vicky Rideout, vice president of the Kaiser Family
Foundation and co-author of the study, said that one thing she
found to be significant about the study's findings was "that
most of the food ads that kid