Black-Oriented TV
Has More Fast-Food Ads
By LINDSEY TANNER
The Associated Press
Monday, April 3, 2006;
6:05 PM
CHICAGO -- There
are far more ads for
fast food and snacks
on black-oriented TV
than on channels with
more general
programming,
researchers report in
a provocative study
that suggests a link
to high obesity rates
in black children.
The results come
from a study that
lasted just one week
in the summer.
Commercials on Black
Entertainment
Television, the
nation's first
black-targeted cable
channel, were compared
with ads during
afternoon and evening
shows on the WB
network and Disney
Channel.
Of the nearly 1,100
ads, more than half
were for fast food and
drinks, such as sodas.
About 66 percent of
the fast-food ads were
on BET, compared with
34 percent on WB and
none on Disney. For
drinks, 82 percent
were on BET, 11
percent on WB and 6
percent on Disney; and
for snacks, 60 percent
were on BET, none on
WB and 40 percent on
Disney.
The study in a
pediatric medical
journal accompanies
separate research: a
study indicating kids
consume an extra 167
calories, often from
advertised foods, for
every hour of TV they
watch; and a report
suggesting even
preschoolers get fat
from watching more
than two hours of
daily TV.
The articles appear
in April's Archives of
Pediatrics &
Adolescent Medicine, a
theme issue on media
and children's health
released Monday.
The studies clearly
illustrate "that the
media have disturbing
potential to
negatively affect many
aspects of children's
healthy development,"
Amy Jordan of the
Annenberg Public
Policy Center at
University of
Pennsylvania wrote in
a journal editorial.
"Such evidence
offers increasing
support for the
American Academy of
Pediatrics'
recommendation that
children older than 2
years spend no more
than two hours per day
with screen media,
preferably educational
screen media," Jordan
said.
Still, Jordan said
the ads study doesn't
prove that a
disproportionate
number of commercials
for unhealthy foods
causes black kids to
become overweight, and
said more research is
needed "to more
convincingly directly
tie exposure to
effects."
Obesity affects
about 18 percent of
black children,
compared with about 14
percent of white
youngsters, according
to 2001-02 data. The
rate was almost 20
percent for Hispanics.
New estimates coming
later this week are
expected to show the
numbers have increased
for both blacks and
whites.
BET spokesman
Michael Lewellen said
BET's target audience
is blacks aged 18 to
34 and said its
programming "does not
target children." He
also questioned the
study's methods since
the researchers
included ads shown
during prime time,
"when virtually all
networks target
adults."
The researchers
examined ads shown
from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
for one week last
July. Programming
generally was music
videos on BET;
cartoons and talk
shows on WB; and
cartoons and
kid-oriented shows,
including "That's So
Raven" and "Kim
Possible" on Disney.
The same programming
is offered during the
school year, said
Corliss Wilson Outley,
a University of
Minnesota researcher
and the lead author.
While Disney is not
an
advertiser-supported
channel, the
researchers counted
company-announced
sponsors of Disney
programs as
commercials.
McDonald's Corp. was
the leading fast-food
advertiser.
Outley said black
children are an
attractive target for
fast-food companies
because many live in
neighborhoods with
easier access to fast
food than healthier
food.
The goal is to "get
kids hooked at a very
early age" so they
become lifelong
customers, she said.
McDonald's
spokesman Bill Whitman
called the study "a
bit misguided" and
said McDonald's
doesn't single out
black children.
"Our marketing
strategy encompasses
young people as well
as adults and we do
that through various
media and marketing
strategies that cross
all demographics,"
Whitman said.
