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

This study examined the characteristics of food advertising on television in Guatemala and Costa Rica using the Pan American Health Organization Nutrient Profile (PAHO-NP) model and the International Network for Food and Obesity Non-Communicable Diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) methodology. It found that 89% and 94% of food ads in Guatemala and Costa Rica, respectively, promoted products not permitted for marketing due to excessive levels of critical nutrients linked to non-communicable diseases, such as sodium, free sugars, and saturated fats. These not-permitted ads frequently employed persuasive marketing techniques—including promotional characters, premium offers, brand benefit claims, and health-related claims—targeting children both on children's channels and family programming. The study highlights the pervasive exposure of children to unhealthy food advertising and supports the need for comprehensive national policies in both countries to restrict marketing of such products across television and other media, in line with WHO and PAHO recommendations to combat childhood obesity.