Teenagers ‘more likely to crave junk food after watching TV adverts’

Teenagers who are exposed to a higher amount of TV advertising are more likely to frequently eat unhealthy junk food snacks, according to a study.

The Cancer Research UK report was based on a YouGov survey, which questioned 3,348 young people in the UK between the ages of 11-19 on their TV viewing habits and diet, in order to determine whether adverts may be driving youngsters to eat more unhealthily.

It was shown that teens who watched more than three hours of commercial TV a day were more likely to eat hundreds of extra junk food snacks, while those who regularly streamed shows with ads were 139 percent more likely to drink fizzy drinks, and 65 percent more likely to eat more ready meals.

This could be putting these young people at increased risk of becoming overweight or obese, which in turn may elevate their chance of contracting 13 types of cancer, including bowel, breast and pancreatic.

Dr Jyotsna Vohra, a lead author on the study from Cancer Research UK, said: "We're not claiming that every teenager who watches commercial TV will gorge on junk food, but this research suggests there is a strong association between advertisements and eating habits."

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