Indirect Associations Between Commercial Television Exposure and Child Body Mass Index

Objective To formally test a hierarchy of effects model linking exposure to television (TV) advertising for unhealthy foods with child body weight through purchase requests, purchases, and consumption. Design A nationally representative cross-sectional online study in the United Kingdom. Participants total 2,260 parent-child dyads (children aged 7–11 years) recruited via research panel; 55.7% boys, mean age 8.9 ± 1.4 years, mass index z-score 1.25 2.1. Main Outcome Measures Parents reported on TV height weight. Children self-reported their frequency (1) pestering advertised foods, (2) (3) consumption foods. Analysis structural equation was applied data. Results As predicted, commercial indirectly associated children's purchasing requests. It also directly purchasing, Associations between noncommercial behavior or outcomes, when found, were significantly weaker than exposure. Conclusions Implications This provides insight into likely behavioral pathways underpinning food marketing diet potentially children. Future longitudinal analyses would provide causal inferences.