Influence of Television Advertisements on Purchasing Behaviour and its Impact on Caries Prevalence Among School Children of Bangalore City

Introduction: Despite the growing strength of social networks, television advertising is still the most influential medium in people's purchasing decisions, particularly children. Aim: To assess the influence of television advertisements on the purchasing behaviour of foods detrimental to oral health and their impact on caries prevalence among school children and to analyse the extent and nature of food advertising in a sample of kids' television programmes focusing on the foods detrimental to oral health. Methodology: A non-randomised, uncontrolled questionnaire-based study was conducted among 480 children aged 6-14 years attending the schools of Bangalore city, followed by an oral examination. Based on the response, kids' channels were analysed for the nature and extent of food advertisements that are detrimental to oral health. Oral health education was given to all the children about the ill-effects of foods that were advertised on television. A post intervention questionnaire was administered after one month to evaluate the effect of intervention. Results: Among 480 children, 14.1% reported that they purchase food products once in a month, 57.2 % once in a week, 26% every day and only 0.02% have never purchased any, and there was a significant association (p0.001) between the purchasing patterns and caries prevalence. Among 1354 advertisements that were recorded, 57.8% (782) were food-based products, and those detrimental to oral health account for 75.97% (594). After oral health education, there was a significant change (P0.05) in the purchasing patterns of food-based products. Conclusion: Television advertisements may strongly influence children's food preferences and eating habits, resulting in a higher caries prevalence. Keywords: Television advertisements, caries prevalence, purchasing behavior, children, health education