ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE

To analyze food advertising on YouTube channels aimed at children in Brazil and the interaction of the public with this type of advertising.

METHODS

We analyzed the 10 most popular videos from the 25 YouTube most-watched channels with content aimed at children in the country in 2018. The presence of general advertising, food brands and food services was identified. When there was advertising in the videos, the foods and their respective brands were described, the first being classified according to the NOVA system. In cases of advertising of a specific food brand without its product having been displayed or mentioned, the classification was carried out according to the predominance of that company products. The number of visualizations and interactions (“likes” and “dislikes”) was also collected.

RESULTS

General advertising was identified in 45.6% of videos, while food and food service advertising was present in 12.9% and 1.6% of videos, respectively. Food advertisements were mostly represented by ultra-processed products (n = 30; 93.8%). In channels led by Kid YouTubers, there was a higher frequency of general advertising, food and food services in the videos. In these channels, the advertisements of food in general and ultra-processed foods were respectively 2.79 and 2.53 times higher than in videos of channels not led by Kid YouTubers. The number of times videos were tagged “liked” was higher in videos with food advertising (1.67 × 10⁵) compared to videos without food advertising (1.02 × 10⁵), p = 0.0272.

CONCLUSION

YouTube is a potential medium for children’s exposure and interaction with ultra-processed food advertising. The results of this analysis reinforce the importance of enforcing regulations prohibiting children’s advertising on this platform.

Food Advertising; Social Media; Child; Industrialized Foods

INTRODUCTION

The participation of ultra-processed foods in the diet of Brazilians is 20% of the calories consumed, while fresh or minimally processed foods, which should be the basis of intake¹1. Ministério da Saúde (BR). Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Atenção Básica. Guia alimentar para a população brasileira. 2th ed. Brasília, DF: Ministério da Saúde; 2014., represent just over half (53.4%) of the calories consumed²2. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Pesquisa de orçamentos familiares 2017-2018: análise do consumo alimentar pessoal no Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística; 2020.. This scenario is related to the recent processes of urbanization, industrialization and modernization, which led to the development of a food environment led by large ultra-processed food companies³3. Baker P, Machado P, Santos T, Sievert K, Backholer K, Hadjikakou M, et al. Ultra-processed foods and the nutrition transition: Global, regional and national trends, food systems transformations and political economy drivers. Obes Rev. 2020 Dec;21(12):e13126. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13126
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13126... .

The dietary pattern with a high participation of ultra-processed foods is associated with excessive weight gain in children⁴4. Neri D, Steele EM, Khandpur N, Cediel G, Zapata ME, Rauber F, et al.. Ultraprocessed food consumption and dietary nutrient profiles associated with obesity: a multicountry study of children and adolescents. Obes Rev. 2022 Jan;23(S1 Suppl 1):e13387. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13387
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13387... . In Brazil, data from the Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (Sisvan) from 2020 show that 15.8% of children between 5 and 10 years old are overweight and 9.4% are obese⁵5. Ministério da Saúde (BR). SISVAN Sistema de Vigilância Alimentar e Nutricional. 2020 [cited 2021 Aug 18]. Available from: https://sisaps.saude.gov.br/sisvan/relatoriopublico/index
https://sisaps.saude.gov.br/sisvan/relat... . Childhood obesity implies high costs for the health system, arising from the medication and treatment of diseases related to excess weight, in addition to possibly resulting in less productive adults with poorer quality of life⁶6. Finkelstein EA, Graham WC, Malhotra R. Lifetime direct medical costs of childhood obesity. Pediatrics. 2014 May;133(5):854-62. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-0063
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2014-0063... .

Excessive exposure to advertising of unhealthy foods is one of the determinants of childhood obesity⁷7. Boyland EJ, Whalen R. Food advertising to children and its effects on diet: review of recent prevalence and impact data. Pediatr Diabetes. 2015 Aug;16(5):331-7. https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12278
https://doi.org/10.1111/pedi.12278... , since it can influence children’s food preferences, favoring the consumption of the advertised foods. This is due to the difficulty of children in recognizing the marketing character of advertising campaigns, given their cognitive limitations⁸8. Smith R, Kelly B, Yeatman H, Boyland E. Food marketing influences children’s attitudes, preferences and consumption: a systematic critical review. Nutrients. 2019 Apr;11(4):875. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu110408759.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu110408759... . For this reason, health organizations consider advertising aimed at children an inappropriate and unfair practice, which needs to be regulated⁹9. United Nations Children’s Fund. A child rights-based approach to food marketing: a guide for policy makers. apr 2018 [cited 2018 Aug 16]. Available from: https://www.prevenirobesidadinfantil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/A-child-rights-based-approach-to-food-marketing_-a-guide-for-policy-makers.pdf?__cf_chl_managed_tk__=pmd_7ff0fc546585bd2388c51a56e1e167ef85426eb0-1629158090-0-gqNtZGzNA3ijcnBszQjO
https://www.prevenirobesidadinfantil.org... .

In Brazil, all advertising directed at children is considered abusive and illegal by the Consumer Protection Code (CDC)¹⁰10. Brasil. Lei nº. 8.078, de 11 de setembro de 1990. Dispõe sobre a proteção do consumidor e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial União. 1990 Sep 12. and Resolution No. 163/2014 of the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (Conanda)¹¹11. Secretaria de Direitos Humanos. Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente. Resolução nº 163, de 13 de março de 2014 [cited 2021 Aug 20]. Dispõe sobre a abusividade do direcionamento de publicidade e de comunicação mercadológica à criança e ao adolescente. Available from: https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File/legis/conanda/resolucao_163_conanda.pdf
https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File... . However, food advertising monitoring data showed that half of the ads of this type served in 2018, in the programming of three channels open on Brazilian television, had content aimed at children with messages encouraging the excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods¹²12. Guimarães JS, Mais LA, M Leite FH, Horta PM, Santana MO, Martins AP, et al. Abusive advertising of food and drink products on Brazilian television. Health Promot Int. 2022 Apr;37(2):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab025
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daab025... . In addition, a recent study monitoring the official pages of companies producing this type of food on social media platforms showed the use of advertising strategies aimed at children, such as the presence of children’s characters and the distribution of gifts or collectibles, especially on YouTube¹³13. Silva JM, Rodrigues MB, Matos JP, Mais LA, Martins AP, Claro RM, et al. Use of persuasive strategies in food advertising on television and on social media in Brazil. Prev Med Rep. 2021 Aug;24:101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101520
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101... .

In the digital environment, YouTube is a video sharing platform used for different types of communication, including advertising¹⁴14. Castelló-Martínez A, Tur-Viñes V. Obesity and food-related content aimed at children on YouTube. Clin Obes. 2020 Oct;10(5):e12389. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12389
https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12389... . Children have been active users of this platform, both as viewers and sharing their own content (kid youtubers). Although YouTube has registration restrictions for individuals under 13, it is possible to access the content of the platform without the need to register. In addition, there is a specific content platform for children, YouTube Kids, which restricts the advertising of paid ads that promote food, regardless of their nutritional content, however, there is no prohibition on the content of videos uploaded by users who have an active account on the platform, and it is possible that advertising practices not subject to the platform’s advertising policies are present in YouTube Kids videos¹⁵15. Ajuda do YouTube. Publicidade no YouTube Kids. 2021 [cited 2021 Aug 16]. Available from: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6168681?hl=pt-BR#zippy=%2Cconte%C3%BAdo-de-m%C3%ADdia-sens%C3%ADvel-a-menores-de-idade%2Cbeleza-e-bem-estar%2Cnamoro-ou-relacionamentos%2Calimentos-e-bebidas%2Cprodutos-ilegais-ou-regulamentados
https://support.google.com/youtube/answe... .

Currently, the advertising content produced by ultra-processed food companies on YouTube channels in Brazil is known¹³13. Silva JM, Rodrigues MB, Matos JP, Mais LA, Martins AP, Claro RM, et al. Use of persuasive strategies in food advertising on television and on social media in Brazil. Prev Med Rep. 2021 Aug;24:101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101520
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2021.101... , but the presence of food advertising on YouTube channels aimed at children is yet unexplored. This platform is popular among Brazilian children and, according to data from media monitoring surveys, 78% of a sample (n = 1,628) of parents of children between 10 and 12 years old say that their children access YouTube on their smartphones¹⁶16. Statista. Most popular mobile social media apps among children in Brazil in 2020, by age group. [cited 2021 Aug 6]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1193633/most-popular-mobile-social-media-apps-children-brazil/.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1193... . Added to this is the high amount of YouTube’s global advertising revenues, which, in 2020 alone, totaled US $19.77 billion¹⁷17. Statista. Worldwide advertising revenues of YouTube from 2017 to 2020 (in million U.S.dollars). 2021 [cited 2021 Aug 6]. Available from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/289658/youtube-global-net-advertising-revenues/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/2896... .

In the digital environment, children can interact directly with advertising content through likes, comments and shares, as well as access online links and games¹⁸18. Tatlow-Golden M, Garde A. Digital food marketing to children: exploitation, surveillance and rights violations. Glob Food Secur. 2020;27:100423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100423 .
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.10042... . Thus, it is expected that the impact of children’s exposure to food advertising on their eating behavior will be even more relevant in this medium than in traditional media¹⁹19. Tatlow-Golden M, Jewell J, Zhiteneva O, Wickramasinghe K, Breda J, Boyland E. Rising to the challenge: introducing protocols to monitor food marketing to children from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Obes Rev. 2021 Nov;22(S6 Suppl 6):e13212. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212... . Therefore, this article aimed to analyze the advertising of food on YouTube channels aimed at children in Brazil in 2018 and the interaction of the public with this advertising.

METHODS

The sample of YouTube channels used in the study was selected from the list of the 250 most viewed channels in the country, regardless of the target audience or subject covered, according to SocialBlade – YouTube’s independent social media analytics website^aa Social Blade. Top 100 youtubers in Brazil sorted by SB rank [internet]. 2018 [quoted nov. 23, 2018]. Available from: https://socialblade.com/youtube/top/country/br – on November 23, 2018. Each channel on this list was analyzed individually, according to its description and indicated target audience, and the first 25 channels that presented content aimed at children were of interest to the study (Chart 1). For this, the criteria of Conanda Resolution No. 163/2014¹¹11. Secretaria de Direitos Humanos. Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente. Resolução nº 163, de 13 de março de 2014 [cited 2021 Aug 20]. Dispõe sobre a abusividade do direcionamento de publicidade e de comunicação mercadológica à criança e ao adolescente. Available from: https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File/legis/conanda/resolucao_163_conanda.pdf
https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File... were adopted, which qualifies the elements of a marketing communication directed to the child, such as the presence of: child language, special effects and excess of colors; soundtracks of children’s music or sung by children’s voices; representation of children (for example, kid youtubers); people or celebrities with appeal to children’s audiences; children’s characters or presenters; cartoons or animation, and dolls or the like.

The 10 most popular videos from each of the 25 selected channels were included in the study (n = 250). This number was established based on the methodology of a similar study carried out in Malaysia²⁰20. Tan L, Ng SH, Omar A, Karupaiah T. What’s on YouTube? A case study on food and beverage advertising in videos targeted at children on social media. Child Obes. 2018 Jul;14(5):280-90. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.0037
https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.0037... . At the time of data collection, two videos were not available for viewing due to content deletion, totaling a final sample of 248 videos.

All videos were watched independently by two researchers on the YouTube platform, using the Google Chrome browser, from January to February 2019. The programming of the videos totaled 33 hours and 39 minutes. The date of publication of the videos as well as the data on the number of views and interactions (“liked” and “disliked”) were recorded and tabulated separately by the researchers in Excel spreadsheets. Besides, the researchers identified whether the channel was led by Kid YouTubers or not.

For the collection of advertising data in videos, it was considered there are four main types of ads on YouTube: (a) non-mandatory viewing ads or videos, that is, it is possible to proceed to the video of interest without viewing them, (b) mandatory viewing ads or videos that, regardless of their duration, do not make it possible to access the video of interest without first viewing them, (c) ads in stripe format that appear at the top or bottom of the video and (d) brands and products mentioned or shown in the scenario or by the characters/presenters of the videos. The first three types of ads, (a), (b) and (c), may appear at any time in the video, when authorized by the channel owner, who chooses the format and frequency, but not the content of the advertising. These ads were excluded from this study because they did not present a display pattern, having no relation to the content of the videos. Thus, only the brands mentioned or shown by videos and that fall into type (d) were considered as advertising. In this case, the publicity was given by the representation of the child consuming the brand’s product, by the demonstration of characteristics of the brand’s food or by the display of the food brand in the background of the video (Table 2).

All advertisements identified in the videos were classified according to the type of product advertised in: general advertising, such as toys and games, and food advertising and food services. When the presence of food advertising was identified in the content of the video, a description of the products and their respective brands was made. These first were grouped into fresh and minimally processed foods, culinary ingredients, processed and ultra-processed foods, according to the NOVA classification proposed by Monteiro et al.²¹21. Monteiro CA, Cannon G, Moubarac JC, Levy RB, Louzada ML, Jaime PC. The UN decade of nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing. Public Health Nutr. 2018 Jan;21(1):5-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017000234
https://doi.org/10.1017/S136898001700023... In the case of ultra-processed food advertisements, the products were classified into different groups, namely: sweets and treats, dairy drinks, juices and soft drinks, bread and biscuits, chips, ultra-processed meats, and breakfast cereals. In cases where there was a display or mention of a food brand in the video, without its product being displayed or mentioned, food advertising was considered and the classification was carried out according to the predominance of the products of that company. For this, the product portfolio was analyzed on the companies’ official websites. In all cases, the companies corresponding to the brands found in the videos were identified.

At the end, data sheets prepared by the study researchers were compared and all inconsistencies corrected, to ensure greater data reliability, whose analysis included the description of the videos regarding the number of views and “like”- and “dislike”-type interactions. For this, we used the median and the interquartile range (25th percentile; 75th percentile), because the distribution of these variables did not adhere to the normal distribution curve, according to the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. In addition, the frequency of general advertising, food (and its subclassifications) and food services was calculated, as well as the number of food advertising placements in each video. This frequency was estimated in the general sample and in the videos of channels led or not by Kid YouTubers. Finally, the medians of the number of views and “liked”- and “disliked”-type interactions were compared between the videos that had general advertising, food and food services, through the application of the Mann-Whitney test, at a significance level of 5% (p < 0.05). Analyses were performed using the statistical software Stata, version 12.0.

RESULTS

The sample consisted of videos published between 2006 and 2018, with the majority (83.2%) posted between 2015 and 2018. The videos had a large number of views (median: 2.93 × 10⁷) and interactions (median “liked”: 1.09 × 10⁵; median “disliked”: 0.25 × 10⁵). Of the total channels analyzed, 9 (36%) were from kid youtubers (data not shown in the table).

General advertising was identified in 45.6% (n = 113) of videos, while food and food service advertising was in 12.9% (n = 32) and 1.6% (n = 4) of the videos, respectively. Food advertisements were mostly represented by ultra-processed foods (n = 30; 93.8%) and, among these, by sweets and treats (n = 21; 70%). In channel videos led by kid youtubers, there was a higher frequency of overall advertising (75.6% vs. 30.7%), food (24.4% vs. 7.2%) and food services (3.7% vs. 0.6%). In addition, ads for the ultra-processed food subgroup were more frequent in videos led by kid youtubers, except for ads for juices or soft drinks and breakfast cereals – videos led by kid youtubers: 16.7% and 0%, respectively, and videos not led by kid youtubers 25% and 8.3%, respectively (Table 1).

In addition, of the 30 videos that contained advertising of ultra-processed foods, 67 ad placements were counted. Advertisements for sweets and treats (n = 30), juices and soft drinks (n = 10) and packaged breads and cookies (n = 10) were the most frequent incidents. In the case of channel videos led by kid YouTubers, food advertising placements were 2.79 times more frequent than in channel videos not led by kid YouTubers. For the advertising of ultra-processed foods, this ratio was 2.53 times (Table 1).

As for the brands evidenced/mentioned in the videos, there was greater participation of transnational companies in the candy and treats segment (18 different brands) and producers of breads and cookies (nine brands). The most frequent brands are from transnational companies such as Pepsico, Mondelez and Nestlé (Table 2).

The number of views of videos with general advertising was lower than those without it: 2.60 × 10⁷ vs. 3.41 × 10⁷, p = 0.0391. The number of “likes” was higher among videos with general advertising (1.35 × 10⁵) compared to videos without general advertising (0.84 × 10⁵), p = 0.0001 (Table 3).

In the case of food advertising, likewise, the number of times videos were marked with “liked” was higher in the presence of this type of advertising (1.67 × 10⁵) compared to videos without food advertising (1.02 × 10⁵), p = 0.0272 (Table 3).

DISCUSSION

This study evidenced the fact that general and food advertising is significantly present in Brazilian YouTube channels aimed at children, especially in channels led by kid youtubers. In addition, it was identified that user interaction by marking “I liked” is greater when there are advertisements, regardless of the type of product being promoted.

These results denote the high potential of exposure of Brazilian children to advertising content on YouTube channels in Brazil, especially when it comes to ultra-processed foods from important transnational companies. This scenario is critical because these are advertising messages that target an admittedly vulnerable audience⁹9. United Nations Children’s Fund. A child rights-based approach to food marketing: a guide for policy makers. apr 2018 [cited 2018 Aug 16]. Available from: https://www.prevenirobesidadinfantil.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/A-child-rights-based-approach-to-food-marketing_-a-guide-for-policy-makers.pdf?__cf_chl_managed_tk__=pmd_7ff0fc546585bd2388c51a56e1e167ef85426eb0-1629158090-0-gqNtZGzNA3ijcnBszQjO
https://www.prevenirobesidadinfantil.org... ,which should be protected from this type of message. This exhibition takes place on a medium (YouTube) of great popularity, which can be accessed by children at any time by different devices, without the direct supervision of their parents or guardians. Added to this is the well-known association between exposure to food advertising and preference for advertised products⁸8. Smith R, Kelly B, Yeatman H, Boyland E. Food marketing influences children’s attitudes, preferences and consumption: a systematic critical review. Nutrients. 2019 Apr;11(4):875. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu110408759.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu110408759... and between the consumption of ultra-processed foods and unfavorable health outcomes in children and adolescents, including obesity⁴4. Neri D, Steele EM, Khandpur N, Cediel G, Zapata ME, Rauber F, et al.. Ultraprocessed food consumption and dietary nutrient profiles associated with obesity: a multicountry study of children and adolescents. Obes Rev. 2022 Jan;23(S1 Suppl 1):e13387. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13387
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13387... .

The results of the study also show that, in addition to children being an audience for the published content, they are also creators of content, as in the case of kid youtubers. In the videos produced by these children, there was a higher frequency and higher number of food advertising placements. The content of kid youtubers videos contains subtle integrations between brand advertising and entertainment, which makes them more difficult to be recognized as advertising content²²22. De Veirman M, Hudders L, Nelson MR. What is influencer marketing and how does it target children? A review and direction for future research. Front Psychol. 2019 Dec;10(10):2685. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02685
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02685... . In addition, when commercial content is endorsed by a child, it becomes an important influencer for the consumption decisions of its audience, which usually consists of other children²²22. De Veirman M, Hudders L, Nelson MR. What is influencer marketing and how does it target children? A review and direction for future research. Front Psychol. 2019 Dec;10(10):2685. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02685
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02685... .

The rate of ultra-processed food advertising identified in this study is concerning. Similar results were found in Malaysia, where 56.3% of food advertising served on children’s YouTube channels was from ultra-processed foods, mainly from fast food and sweets, resulting in the transmission of 0.73 ads per hour of video²⁰20. Tan L, Ng SH, Omar A, Karupaiah T. What’s on YouTube? A case study on food and beverage advertising in videos targeted at children on social media. Child Obes. 2018 Jul;14(5):280-90. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.0037
https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2018.0037... . In the United Kingdom, 92.9% of videos of children’s influencers on YouTube suggested some food or drink²³23. Coates AE, Hardman CA, Halford JC, Christiansen P, Boyland EJ. Food and beverage cues featured in YouTube videos of social media influencers popular with children: an exploratory study. Front Psychol. 2019 Sep;10:2142. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02142
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02142... , while in Spain this rate was 73.6%¹⁴14. Castelló-Martínez A, Tur-Viñes V. Obesity and food-related content aimed at children on YouTube. Clin Obes. 2020 Oct;10(5):e12389. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12389
https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12389... .

In addition to the presence of food advertising on YouTube channels aimed at children in Brazil, an expressive interaction with the content of the videos was identified, in the presence of advertising content, by the marking “liked”. Data in the literature indicate that the greater the interaction of children with advertising, the greater the effect of exposure on eating behavior¹⁹19. Tatlow-Golden M, Jewell J, Zhiteneva O, Wickramasinghe K, Breda J, Boyland E. Rising to the challenge: introducing protocols to monitor food marketing to children from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Obes Rev. 2021 Nov;22(S6 Suppl 6):e13212. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212... . In Australia, for example, one study showed that 12- to 17-year-olds who liked or shared a food or drink post on social media at least once in the month prior to the survey had a high intake of unhealthy foods, and the more the teens interacted with the content, the higher the consumption²⁴24. Gascoyne C, Scully M, Wakefield M, Morley B. Food and drink marketing on social media and dietary intake in Australian adolescents: findings from a cross-sectional survey. Appetite. 2021 Nov;166:105431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105431
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105... .

Taken together, the evidence found in this study characterizes the low effectiveness of measures to regulate advertising aimed at children in Brazil, which are considered abusive and prohibited by law¹⁰10. Brasil. Lei nº. 8.078, de 11 de setembro de 1990. Dispõe sobre a proteção do consumidor e dá outras providências. Diário Oficial União. 1990 Sep 12.,¹¹11. Secretaria de Direitos Humanos. Conselho Nacional dos Direitos da Criança e do Adolescente. Resolução nº 163, de 13 de março de 2014 [cited 2021 Aug 20]. Dispõe sobre a abusividade do direcionamento de publicidade e de comunicação mercadológica à criança e ao adolescente. Available from: https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File/legis/conanda/resolucao_163_conanda.pdf
https://crianca.mppr.mp.br/arquivos/File... . It is therefore necessary to advance this agenda, which implies updating the regulatory terms in the context of digital advertising and ensuring the inspection and punishment for this type of advertising.

In the first case, one must add to the regulatory texts the clear definition of advertising in the digital environment, including that carried out by digital influencers (such as kid youtubers)²⁵25. World Cancer Research Fund International. Building momentum: lessons on implementing robust restrictions of food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing to children. 2020 [cited 2021 Aug 20]. Available from: http:wcrf.org/buildingmomentum
http:wcrf.org/buildingmomentum... . Some regulatory texts that can be used as inspiration for the regulation of digital food advertising in Brazil is Law No. 30/2019, of Portugal, which introduces restrictions on the advertising of unhealthy foods on the internet, on websites or social media, as well as on mobile applications, when their content is intended for children under 16²⁶26. Portugal. Lei nº 30, de 23 de abril de 2019. Introduz restrições à publicidade dirigida a menores de 16 anos de géneros alimentícios e bebidas que contenham elevado valor energético, teor de sal, açúcar, ácidos gordos saturados e ácidos gordos transformados, procedendo à 14.ª alteração ao Código da Publicidade, aprovado pelo Decreto-Lei n.º 330/90, de 23 de outubro. Diário da República n.º 79/2019, Série I de 2019-04-23 [cited 2022 May 25], p. 22578. Available from: https://dre.pt/dre/detalhe/lei/30-2019-122151046
https://dre.pt/dre/detalhe/lei/30-2019-1... . In Latin America, the Chilean government also restricts advertising of foods deemed unhealthy targeting children under 14 on websites²⁷27. Paraje G, Colchero A, Wlasiuk JM, Sota AM, Popkin BM. The effects of the Chilean food policy package on aggregate employment and real wages. Food Policy. 2021;100:102016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.102016 .
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.1... .

In addition, it is recommended to impose limits on the targeting of advertising through individual data algorithms²⁵25. World Cancer Research Fund International. Building momentum: lessons on implementing robust restrictions of food and non-alcoholic beverage marketing to children. 2020 [cited 2021 Aug 20]. Available from: http:wcrf.org/buildingmomentum
http:wcrf.org/buildingmomentum... , as companies can currently extract user location and browsing history data from a digital device and use it to personalize advertising messages. This is an automated process, called programmatic media, used in the purchase and delivery of ads through algorithms to find and target advertising according to the interests of individuals. Thus, advertisers can identify where the child is and their preferred content. With this, companies can experiment with different commercial strategies aimed at the individual’s consumption profile and monitor the individual’s interaction with the ad, as well as conversion into acquisition¹⁸18. Tatlow-Golden M, Garde A. Digital food marketing to children: exploitation, surveillance and rights violations. Glob Food Secur. 2020;27:100423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100423 .
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.10042... .

In the case of inspection, it is necessary to invest in technologies for the systematic monitoring of digital advertising, which capture the multidimensionality of this type of media and the different ways of advertising¹⁹19. Tatlow-Golden M, Jewell J, Zhiteneva O, Wickramasinghe K, Breda J, Boyland E. Rising to the challenge: introducing protocols to monitor food marketing to children from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Obes Rev. 2021 Nov;22(S6 Suppl 6):e13212. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212
https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13212... . One path would be the adoption of predefined instruments for the identification of food advertising aimed at children on YouTube channels, including on channels led by child influencers, as provided for in the protocols recently launched by the regional office of the World Health Organization in Europe^bb World Health Organization. Europe. Monitoring of marketing of unhealthy products to children and adolescents:– protocols and templates. 2020 [quoted aug. 20, 2021]. Available from: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/nutrition/activities/monitoring-of-marketing-of-unhealthy-products-to-children-and-adolescents-protocols-and-templates . It is also necessary to overcome the challenges for the monitoring of advertising disseminated by programmatic media, not addressed in this study, in the types of advertising that precede or are broadcast throughout the videos, usually of mandatory viewing, but which do not have an equal display pattern for individuals.

Social media platforms can also contribute to ensuring the protection of children from exposure to commercial content. In the case of YouTube, as already mentioned, there is no restriction on children’s advertising, even if it is possible for children to access the platform. As for YouTube Kids, although there is a ban on food advertising by large companies, this measure does not extend to influencer-generated content and there is evidence of great inadequacy and negligence on the part of the platform in inspection²⁸28. Sacks G, Looi ES. The advertising policies of major social media platforms overlook the imperative to restrict the exposure of children and adolescents to the promotion of unhealthy foods and beverages. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun;17(11):4172. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114172
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114172... .

Likewise, the food industry can act responsibly and make a commitment not to communicate directly with children. In Brazil, the National Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (Conar), composed of advertising agencies and advertisers, does not recognize advertising aimed at children as illegal and presents a performance more aligned with market relations than focused on the protection of children in the face of the power of advertising practices²⁹29. Silva DA, Cunha AC, Cunha TR, Rosaneli CF. Publicidade de alimentos para crianças e adolescentes: desvelar da perspectiva ética no discurso da autorregulamentação. Cien Saude Colet. 2017 Jul;22(7):2187-96. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232017227.03222017
https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232017227... .

It is worth discussing the legal precedent that fined an ultra-processed food company in Brazil, Pandurata Alimentos, for targeting advertising to children. Despite not being a case of widespread advertising in the digital environment, the focus of this study, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) recognized that the company used a promotional strategy to encourage the consumption of low nutritional quality foods by children and, thus, contradicted the guidelines on abuse of the CDC³⁰. Expanding the number of legal precedents regarding abusive advertising and expanding the recognition that it is also abusive to hire kid youtubers for product advertising are necessary ways to ensure the protection of children against marketing communication.

As for the potential limits of the study, it is first indicated the absence of a pattern of display of mandatory, optional and banner ads, which allowed us to evaluate only a portion of food advertising in videos aimed at children. Thus, it is estimated that the exposure of children to advertising content is even greater on this platform. Secondly, the impossibility of knowing the origin of the interactions, that is, how many of them actually came from the child audience, is also a limitation.

Despite this, it was possible to conclude that there is a predominance of advertising of ultra-processed foods in videos of children’s YouTube channels in Brazil, especially in channels led by kid YouTubers, which reinforces the importance of actions to regulate food advertising on social media and provides evidence for future investigations aimed at understanding the impact of childhood exposure to food advertising and the profile of children’s food consumption.

CONCLUSION

There was an expressive presence of food advertising from important transnationals, with a high frequency of placements on children’s channels on YouTube, especially on channels led by kid youtubers. In addition, there were more “liked”-type interactions in videos with general or food advertising.

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