Are U.S. food and beverage companies now advertising healthy products to children on television? An evaluation of improvements in industry self-regulation, 2017-2021.

Background: Through the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), U.S. food companies pledge to only advertise healthier products in children's television (TV) programming, but previous research shows that highly advertised products do not qualify as nutritious according to independent nutrition criteria.

Unhealthy food advertising on Costa Rican and Guatemalan television: a comparative study.

This study aimed to exhaustively explore the characteristics of food advertising on TV in Guatemala and Costa Rica. The International Network for Food and Obesity Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) methodology was applied. In 2016, we recorded 1440 h of video among 10 TV channels.

Caregivers' provision of sweetened fruit-flavoured drinks to young children: importance of perceived product attributes and differences by socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics.

Objective: Drinks containing added sugar and/or non-nutritive sweeteners are not recommended for children under 6 years. Yet, most young children consume these products. The current study examined factors associated with caregivers' provision of sweetened drinks to their young child.

Caregivers' Understanding of Ingredients in Drinks Served to Young Children: Opportunities for Nutrition Education and Improved Labeling.

Background: Against expert recommendations, sugar-sweetened beverages, especially fruit drinks, are consumed by young children. Misperceptions about drink ingredients and healthfulness can contribute to caregivers' provision.

Objectives: To assess caregivers' reasons for serving sweetened fruit-flavored drinks and unsweetened juices to their young children (1-5 y) and perceptions of product healthfulness and drink ingredients.

Television viewing and using screens while eating: Associations with dietary intake in children and adolescents.

Screen time has been associated with overweight and obesity, as well as with poorer dietary quality. However, the reasons explaining these associations are not well understood. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were [1] to determine the extent of overall TV viewing as well as using screens while eating (e.

Implementation of a regulatory food policy to reduce availability of energy-dense foods in Costa Rican high schools.

Objective: To assess the extent to which mandatory Guidelines to improve the school food environment were being implemented in Costa Rican high schools and to explore the perspectives of key policy actors towards the Guidelines.

Design: Semi-structured interviews and site observations. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and imported to NVivo 12 for analysis.

Food environment solutions for childhood obesity in Latin America and among Latinos living in the United States.

The food environment is a major contributor to unhealthy diets in children and, therefore, to the increasing rates of obesity. Acclaimed by scholars across the world, Latin American countries have been leaders in implementing policies that target different aspects of the food environment. Evidence on the nature and to what extent children are exposed and respond to unhealthy food environments in the region and among Latinos in the United States is, however, deficient.

TV advertising and dietary intake in adolescents: a pre- and post- study of Chile's Food Marketing Policy.

Background: The first phase of a comprehensive marketing policy was implemented in Chile in 2016. The policy restricted child-directed marketing of foods and beverages considered high in energy, total sugars, sodium or saturated fat ("high-in"). The objective of this study was to examine the role of high-in TV food advertising as a mediator in the association between policy implementation and consumption of high-in foods and beverages between 2016 and 2017.

Examining Chile's unique food marketing policy: TV advertising and dietary intake in preschool children, a pre- and post- policy study.

Background: The Chilean government implemented the first phase of a comprehensive marketing policy in 2016, restricting child-directed marketing of products high in energy, total sugars, sodium or saturated fat (hereafter "high-in").

Objectives: To examine the role that high-in TV food advertising had in the effect of the policy on consumption of high-in products between 2016 and 2017.

Methods: Dietary data were obtained from 24-hour diet recall measured in 2016 (n = 940) and 2017 (n = 853), pre- and post-policy, from a cohort of 4 to 6 years children.

Snacking patterns among Chilean children and adolescents: is there potential for improvement?

Objective: To examine snacking patterns, food sources and nutrient profiles of snacks in low- and middle-income Chilean children and adolescents.

Design: Cross-sectional. Dietary data were collected via 24 h food recalls.

Television food and beverage marketing to children in Costa Rica: current state and policy implications.

Objective: To examine the frequency of television (TV) food and beverage advertisements (F&B ads) to which children (4-11 years) are likely exposed and the nutrient profile of products advertised.

Design: TV broadcasting between September and November 2016 was recorded (288 h of children's programming; 288 h of family programming) resulting in 8980 advertisements, of which 1862 were F&B ads. Of those, 1473 could be classified into one of the seventeen food groups, and into permitted/non-permitted according to the WHO-EU nutrient profile model.

Global benchmarking of children's exposure to television advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages across 22 countries.

Restricting children's exposures to marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages is a global obesity prevention priority. Monitoring marketing exposures supports informed policymaking. This study presents a global overview of children's television advertising exposure to healthy and unhealthy products.

Participating in a Food-Assisted Maternal and Child Nutrition and Health Program in Rural Guatemala Alters Household Dietary Choices.

Background: Food assistance programs may alter food choices, but factors determining households' decisions regarding food acquisition, preparation, and consumption in the context of food aid are not well understood.

Objective: This study aimed to understand how the Programa Comunitario Materno Infantil de Diversificación Alimentaria (Mother-Child Community Food Diversification Program; PROCOMIDA), a food-assisted maternal and child health and nutrition program in rural Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, altered household food choices.

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews and focus groups with 63 households in 3 participating (n = 32 households) and 3 control (n = 31) villages.