Food Advertisements and its Potential Impact on Dental Health

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: The study's primary aim is to assess the prevalence of food advertisements that are potentially harmful to dental health in the Arab Region. The secondary objectives are to describe the pattern and prevalence of food\drink advertisements according to sugar and acid content and the proportion of these advertisements in holidays and non-holidays with the investigation of the consumption of cariogenic potential of different foods containing sugar and acids. Materials and Methods: Mixed study design was adopted to meet the present study aims. The study included two main parts. The first part includes a content analysis of the records of the most commonly viewed TV channels in the Arab region, in order to describe the pattern and prevalence of food\drink advertisements according to sugar and acid content across the most popular TV channels in the region. The second part is an exploratory survey of Libyan adults to identify their preference and consumption of food\beverage products. Results: A total of 64.51 hours was recorded for the selected television channels, out of 903 adverts for different product types, (n=171, 18.9%) were food adverts, more than half of these food advertisements (53.6%, n=91) were categorized as potentially harmful to dental health, including cariogenic, high in sugar foods and drinks (12.4%, n=21), and both cariogenic and acidogenic (41.2%, n=70). More than half of the recorded adverts (52.3%, 472) were broadcasted on weekend days, and more than one third (56.6%, n=511) were broadcasted on peak time. Libya and other Arab countries have similar habits and diet desires, as the frequent consumption of foods rich in sugars like white bread and sweet snacks makes up the largest proportion of their diet. Comparison of commonly advertised and commonly consumed foods and drinks, it is clear that carbonated drinks and coffee and tea are quite common dietary items. Overall, the study demonstrated that the Libyan adults frequently consumes coffee and tea as well as carbonated soft drinks and fruit juices which are a primary source for sugars and acids causing caries and erosion. Therefore, the present study has important implications for dietary advice provided both at clinical and community settings. The educational message should target these habits in order to promote healthy eating and life-style. Conclusion: In conclusion, this study focus on the nature of food advertising on the most popular TV channels in the Arab region. The overall proportion of food advertisements is low, but more than half of these food advertisements were for products that potentially harmful to dental health and the great bulk were for foods high in both sugar and acid content, with occasionally a high proportion of advertisements during peak viewing time and holidays. Accordingly, the most commonly advertised food products, like carbonated soft drinks and coffee and tea are quite common dietary items and are the most frequently consumed food products by Libyan adults. The results show that Libyan adults frequently consumed food with high sugar and acid content which is harmful to dental health.