Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives
The primary objective of this study was to investigate how parents in the eThekwini region perceive food advertising targeted at minors on television. The study also aimed to understand the impact of television food promotions on minor’s eating habits and food preferences from the parent’s perspecti...
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Academic Research and Publishing UG (AR&P)
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Business Ethics and Leadership |
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| Online Access: | https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BEL_2_2025_3.pdf
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| _version_ | 1850099378812878848 |
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| author | Vusi Mpungane Tshepo Tlapana |
| author_facet | Vusi Mpungane Tshepo Tlapana |
| author_sort | Vusi Mpungane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The primary objective of this study was to investigate how parents in the eThekwini region perceive food advertising targeted at minors on television. The study also aimed to understand the impact of television food promotions on minor’s eating habits and food preferences from the parent’s perspective. The potential implications of this study's findings on marketing strategies, particularly those targeting children, are significant and could lead to a shift in advertising practices. This quantitative cross-sectional study, which involved a nonprobability sampling method, specifically convenience sampling, focused on a subset of the larger eThekwini population, particularly 400 parents with minors residing in the region. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 27 software, employing descriptive statistics to summarize the findings. The study revealed that many respondents are highly concerned about food advertising on children’s television shows. In particular, 94.1% of respondents believe that there are too many food advertisements in programs aimed at minors, indicating that they feel excessive food marketing targets children. Additionally, 94.4% of respondents expressed concerns about food product advertising, especially the use of celebrities to promote food items. Reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which produced scores of 0.814 and 0.929, respectively. These results demonstrate a high level of reliability for the measuring instrument used in the study. It is recommended that governments introduce stringent regulations to discourage the marketing and promotion of food products to minors, focusing instead on promoting healthy eating and overall well-being. Importantly, regulations are urgently needed to encourage food manufacturers to improve child-targeted advertising and help combat childhood obesity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4795e50226aa4b09b24865ba79eee663 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2520-6761 2520-6311 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Academic Research and Publishing UG (AR&P) |
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| series | Business Ethics and Leadership |
| spelling | doaj-art-4795e50226aa4b09b24865ba79eee6632025-08-20T02:40:30ZengAcademic Research and Publishing UG (AR&P)Business Ethics and Leadership2520-67612520-63112025-07-0192395410.61093/bel.9(2).39-54.2025Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental PerspectivesVusi Mpungane0https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3380-6242Tshepo Tlapana1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1777-6177M Phil., Postgraduate Student, Durban University of Technology, Department of Marketing & Retail, Faculty of Management Sciences, Durban University of Technology, South AfricaPh.D., Associate Professor, Walter Sisulu University, Department of Marketing, Public Relations & Communication, Faculty Management & Public Administration Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, South AfricaThe primary objective of this study was to investigate how parents in the eThekwini region perceive food advertising targeted at minors on television. The study also aimed to understand the impact of television food promotions on minor’s eating habits and food preferences from the parent’s perspective. The potential implications of this study's findings on marketing strategies, particularly those targeting children, are significant and could lead to a shift in advertising practices. This quantitative cross-sectional study, which involved a nonprobability sampling method, specifically convenience sampling, focused on a subset of the larger eThekwini population, particularly 400 parents with minors residing in the region. The data was analyzed using SPSS Version 27 software, employing descriptive statistics to summarize the findings. The study revealed that many respondents are highly concerned about food advertising on children’s television shows. In particular, 94.1% of respondents believe that there are too many food advertisements in programs aimed at minors, indicating that they feel excessive food marketing targets children. Additionally, 94.4% of respondents expressed concerns about food product advertising, especially the use of celebrities to promote food items. Reliability was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which produced scores of 0.814 and 0.929, respectively. These results demonstrate a high level of reliability for the measuring instrument used in the study. It is recommended that governments introduce stringent regulations to discourage the marketing and promotion of food products to minors, focusing instead on promoting healthy eating and overall well-being. Importantly, regulations are urgently needed to encourage food manufacturers to improve child-targeted advertising and help combat childhood obesity.https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BEL_2_2025_3.pdf advertisingbehaviorconsumer interestsmarketingminorspromotiontelevision food advertisingvulnerability of minors |
| spellingShingle | Vusi Mpungane Tshepo Tlapana Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives Business Ethics and Leadership advertising behavior consumer interests marketing minors promotion television food advertising vulnerability of minors |
| title | Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives |
| title_full | Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives |
| title_fullStr | Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives |
| title_short | Vulnerability of Minors to the Influence of Television Food Advertising: Parental Perspectives |
| title_sort | vulnerability of minors to the influence of television food advertising parental perspectives |
| topic | advertising behavior consumer interests marketing minors promotion television food advertising vulnerability of minors |
| url | https://armgpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/BEL_2_2025_3.pdf
|
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vusimpungane vulnerabilityofminorstotheinfluenceoftelevisionfoodadvertisingparentalperspectives AT tshepotlapana vulnerabilityofminorstotheinfluenceoftelevisionfoodadvertisingparentalperspectives |