Study Finds More Food Ads Aimed At Blacks, Suggesting Link Between Television and Obesity

Prime-time television shows aimed at African-American audiences contain "more overweight characters, more food and beverage commercials and more references to food" than shows "aimed at a general audience," suggesting that television content could contribute to higher rates of obesity among America's black population, according to a new study. The Chicago Tribune reports that researchers at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital examined "four episodes each of the four most popular situation comedies among black audiences," all with "predominantly black characters" -- "Moesha," "The Parkers," "Malcolm & Eddie" and "The Jamie Foxx Show" -- and the "four most popular sitcoms" among general audiences: "Friends," "Frasier," "Jesse" and "Stark Raving Mad," all with "predominantly white characters." All episodes studied were aired in the fall of 1999. The study, presented Saturday at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Baltimore, found that 27% of the actors on the black-oriented shows were overweight, compared to 2% on the general interest shows; 4.78 food commercials aired per half-hour in the black-oriented shows versus 2.89 in the other shows (Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 4/30). In addition, 31% of commercials during the black-oriented shows were for candy and 13% were for soda, compared to 11% and 2%, respectively, for the general interest shows. According to Anjali Jain, a pediatrician and senior author of the study, more than 60% of the black population is overweight, compared with 54% of the general population. And statistics from Nielsen Research have shown that blacks, on average, spend 23 more hours per week watching television than the general population. "I think this is evidence that it's not just the amount of TV watched, it's the content that could be contributing to obesity. In addition to getting people to watch less, we need to look at the messages they receive and turn it around to where we could be promoting healthier eating," Jain said (AP/Washington Post, 4/29). Jain added the study is "being withheld pending possible publication in a medical journal" (Chicago Tribune, 4/30).