Children consume significantly more calories in a day after just five minutes of exposure to unhealthy food ads, according to groundbreaking research, The Guardian reported.
The study showed that young people who saw or heard advertisements for foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and salt consumed an average of 130 additional calories—equivalent to two slices of bread.
In two separate cases, participants were shown a five-minute commercial for junk food, followed by one for non-food products. They were then offered grapes or chocolate bars, and later served a lunch consisting of salty, sweet, and healthy foods.
The authors calculated that, after watching the food commercial, children consumed 58 more calories as a snack and 7 more calories at lunch than they did after watching the non-food commercial.
The study, scheduled to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Málaga, Spain, also showed that the impact on calorie intake was similar regardless of whether the advertising featured specific foods or promoted general fast food brands. And it is not affected by the type of advertisement—whether it’s a video with sound, social media posts, podcast ads, or billboards.
