Feeding the problem: Junk food ads target Filipino kids
OBESE composite image from Inquirer files
MANILA, Philippines—Every day, Filipino children are exposed to a constant stream of ads promoting donuts, soft drinks, fried chicken, instant noodles, and chocolate-covered treats. These aren’t just commercials — they’re integrated into the videos they watch, the influencers they follow, and the digital playgrounds they inhabit for hours at a time.
Innocent as it may seem, this exposure is fueling a growing public health crisis. A landmark study by Unicef reveals that children in the Philippines are being aggressively targeted by marketing for unhealthy food products — many of which are high in sugar, salt, and fat — disguised as fun, family-friendly, or even nutritious.
What children see online is shaping what they crave, ask for, and eat and it’s happening long before they can tell the difference between an ad and entertainment.
Eight-year-old Kevin, who enjoys donuts and soft drinks, puts it simply: “I bought this food because I saw it on TV.”
Digital playground saturated with junk
In March 2021, Unicef released a study on unhealthy food marketing in Philippine digital media. Its findings are stark: 99 percent of social media marketing posts analyzed were not suitable for marketing to children, based on World Health Organization (WHO) criteria.
Of 1,035 ads assessed from top Filipino food brands on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, only eight met health standards. And yet, the same study found that 72 percent of posts appealed to children, and an even higher 84 percent to teenagers.
The platforms where these ads appear — Facebook, YouTube, Instagram — are where Filipino children spend a huge part of their day. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, over 70 percent of surveyed children said they were online for 6 to 12 hours a day.
Research shows that digital food marketing “develops emotional associations with products to increase their appeal,” ultimately shaping “children’s food preferences, requests, and eating” habits, according to the Unicef study co-authored by Dr. Emma Boyland and Dr. Mimi Tatlow-Golden.
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Even Nadyn Evalles, a mother of five and a health teacher who makes a conscious effort to serve fruits and home-cooked meals, admits the advertising is nearly impossible to escape.
“Due to social media, my children crave this fast food. These are enticing in children’s eyes, so sometimes I give them what they want,” Evalles told Unicef.
Marketing that manipulates
Food brands don’t just show food — they tell stories. The ads analyzed in the study were saturated with themes that struck emotional chords: fun, taste, family bonding, celebrations, and even health and fitness.
Even when the food was high in sugar, salt, or fat — like instant noodles, sweetened yogurt drinks, or processed cheese — ads presented them as wholesome family moments or energizing snacks for active kids.
One milk drink brand featured a montage of kids doing home workouts during lockdown. A cheese product was paired with a sports-loving family. These techniques amount to what researchers call “health-washing”: using the imagery of physical activity to suggest health benefits from nutritionally poor food.
Research shows that children form emotional bonds with food brands early on — often before they even develop the ability to understand advertising. These associations, the Unicef study notes, “develop through the childhood years and persist into adulthood.”
Influencers, celebrities, and illusion of choice
The study also exposed the significant role of influencers and celebrities — many of them children or teens themselves — in promoting unhealthy food products.
One in five posts appealing to young audiences featured local stars: dancers, vloggers, and athletes. Among the most influential was 15-year-old YouTube star Niana Guerrero, whose videos often include food content and rack up millions of views.
Influencers don’t just advertise food — they make it feel like part of everyday life. The Unicef study found that children often form close, friendship-like bonds with these online personalities, viewing them as more authentic than traditional celebrities.
When influencers eat fast food or take on food challenges with siblings or friends, the content doesn’t register as advertising for many young viewers.
One child from Cebu shared how persuasive this content can be: “I ask mama to buy the Nissin noodles I saw [on] the internet next time we go to the grocery,” said a six-year-old participant.
These personalities attract millions of views — and with them, millions of marketing impressions that feel more like fun than persuasion.
An ‘advertised diet’
Beyond brand exposure, Filipino children are absorbing what experts call an “advertised diet” — a media-shaped idea of what food is supposed to be: indulgent, exciting, and emotionally rewarding.
“[A]lmost entirely unhealthy ‘advertised diet’ is promoted to children and families, creating emotional associations of fun, love, sharing and health with these foods, and draws on the ‘star’ power of local sporting and media celebrities,” the study noted.
This dynamic is most visible on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where popular Filipino influencers — many of them teens or younger — routinely feature food in their content. The most engaging videos often revolve around mukbangs, food hacks, and playful food challenges, showcasing products like gummy candies, chocolate spreads, instant noodles, and cookie-flavored cereals.
These seemingly harmless clips are, in fact, a central part of how the advertised diet takes root. They present unhealthy food as a source of fun, laughter, and bonding — whether between siblings, friends, or idols and fans.
Over time, repeated exposure to this kind of content does more than entertain. It rewires children’s food preferences, nudging them to associate pleasure and belonging with foods that are, in reality, detrimental to their health.
Growing crisis of childhood obesity
The latest national data shows a worrisome trend: obesity among Filipino adolescents rose from 11.6 percent in 2018 to 13 percent in 2021 — about 1 in every 8 teens. Among younger children aged 5-10, the obesity rate has doubled since 2003.
READ: Childhood obesity (Love not our children to death)
Experts are clear: the explosion of digital food marketing is part of a larger obesogenic system — an environment that promotes unhealthy eating and sedentary behavior.
READ: Obesity’s heavy toll: Millions of Filipinos now at greater health risks
Currently, the responsibility of regulating food marketing to children in the Philippines still falls largely on the food industry itself, with companies setting and following their own standards.
While families are often blamed, Unicef Philippines stresses that it’s the food environment — not parenting — that needs to change.
“The food industry plays a critical role in ensuring that children grow up with healthier food preferences,” said Unicef Philippines acting representative Behzad Noubary.
“We must work hand-in-hand in rethinking how food is produced, marketed, and made available to create an environment where nutritious options are within reach for every child, everywhere,” he added.
What can be done?
Unicef is calling for urgent, multi-sectoral action. Among their recommendations:
- Legally restrict the marketing of unhealthy food to children—especially on social media and through influencers.
- Enforce stronger labeling and advertising standards, using nutrient profiling as a guide.
- Integrate media literacy and food education into school curricula.
Support parents in navigating and challenging the digital food environment.
For now, the responsibility often falls on families to push back against a system stacked against them.
“Parents and other caregivers are the first line of defense against an unhealthy diet. Getting the proper vitamins and minerals begins even before childbirth. A mother who eats right can start to influence a baby’s preferences, as well as the nutritional status upon birth,” Unicef explained.
“Later on, with young children and teens, parents and caregivers should instill a healthy and active lifestyle, which doesn’t have to be expensive. Encouraging outdoor activity, eating fruits (instead of something fruit-flavored), and becoming more selective when choosing snacks could be some simple ways to switch from junk food and build healthier eating habits,” it added.
When purchasing food, Evalles, despite occasional requests from her children, told Unicef: “I base it on the nutritional facts, if it will help the development of my child.”
The cost of inaction will be steep — not just in long-term healthcare spending, but in the everyday well-being of an entire generation.
“If no action is taken, overall rates of overweight and obesity will continue to rise. It is projected that more than 30 [percent] of Filipino adolescents will be overweight and obese by 2030,” said Unicef.
What’s at stake isn’t just what Filipino children eat today — it’s what they grow up believing food is for.
Graphics by Ed Lustan/Inquirer.net. Sources: Unicef, Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute
