Health & Media Statistics: Resources for Finding the Most Current Data (scroll down for a sampling of actual stats)

(See also Kids, Parents and Family Media Statistics )

The NOW Foundation's Love Your Body site has a great fact sheet on Advertising & Health.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has excellent, reliable material but it's not particularly easy to find on their site. Use their search box with keywords such as advertising, marketing, children, teens, etc. and you'll get lots of links.

CommonSenseMedia.org is an excellent resource for child, teen and family-related media and health statistics. Their Tips section has a Health Survival Guide with statistics (unfortunately not referenced to the original source or date, but the copyright is 2007). The Resources section has great links to research data in the categories of Obesity, Violence, Sex & Dating, and Body Image/Gender & Racial Stereotypes.

The Kaiser Family Foundation produces regular reports on the Study of Entertainment Media & Health, including, "Parents Say They’re Gaining Control Over Their Children’s Exposure to Sex and Violence in the Media" (June 2007; "Children's Exposure to Food Advertising on Television;" and "Teen Media Juggling Act: The Implications of Media Multitasking Among American Youth."

The The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University has outstanding resources with lots of statistics on media and health.

The American Medical Association has some good material on health and media issues but the site is oriented toward doctors, not the average person, so you'll need patience while searching. Use the search box with your keywords. I accidentally opened a comprehensive 99-page PDF document from 1999, entitled something like "Teen Drinking and Alcohol Advertising," but once I got off the link I couldnt' easily get back.

The Parents Television Council has many reports on what they consider to be the horrible influence of TV in our lives. The data are probably accurate, just keep in mind that their studies start out with the assumption that media are a bad influence on children and have virtually no redeeming qualities. Their outside studies/documents on the effects of violence, sex, and language in the media are likely to be less biased.

A Sampling of Media Statistics. some from additional sources you can check for current data

Sept.l 2007: The American Medical Association resolved to enhance its efforts to end alcohol advertising on sports broadcasts and particularly on college sports broadcasts," updating its previous effort reported below (see April 2005).

Jan. 2006: Children saw an average 33 percent more advertisements for alcoholic beverages on TV in 2004 than they did in 2001, according to an analysis by The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.

Aug. 2005: Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising totaled $4 billion in 2004, quadrupling since 1998, the first full year after the FDA eased restrictions on drug ads. (Source: Chicago Tribune article reprinted in the Sacramento Bee, August 3, 2005)

April 2005: Each hour of television that four-year-olds watch per day increases their probability of turning into schoolyard bullies by 9 per cent, according to a University of Washington study that tracked almost 1300 children.

April 2005: The American Medical Association [see link and comment in top section] called on the National Collegiate Athletic Association to uphold their obligation to the lives and health of young Americans by eliminating alcohol advertising associated with NCAA events. Key findings of an AMA poll on alcohol, advertising and college sports include: 71% of all adults agreed that American colleges should not use their sports programs and teams to expose students to alcohol advertising and marketing; 69 % of all adults agreed that alcohol advertising in college sports sends the wrong message to children, teens and students; 67 % of adults agreed that alcohol advertising is attractive to, and targets, underage youth; and 66 % of adults agreed that alcohol consumption among college students is a public health problem.

March 2005: A University of California study found that teenagers and pre-teens with televisions in their bedroom are more likely to use drugs, smoke cigarettes, binge drink, and have sex. The study was published in the Australian Doctor. The study surveyed more than 1,000 10 to 16 year olds and found that over 50 percent of them had a television in their bedroom. They also watch more television than teens and pre-teens without a television in the bedroom. The study links the risky behavior to the amount of and unsupervised exposure to the high-risk behavior found in the media. The study also addresses how television's replacement for parent- child interaction contributes to harmful behavior. According to the study, parents of teens and pre-teens with televisions in their bedrooms are less likely to know where, and with whom, their children spend their after-school hours.

Dec. 2004: The American Medical Association (AMA) [see link and comment in top section] released the results of two nationwide polls that revealed the extent of underage consumption and marketing exposure to "alcopops" or so-called "girlie drinks." The AMA expressed concern that hard-liquor brands are using these sweet-flavored malt beverages as "gateway" beverages to attract less-experienced drinkers. The polls showed more teenage girls see "alcopop" ads than women age 31-44. The AMA said the poll results underscore the need for physicians to ...advocate for policies that protect underage youth from the marketing tactics of the alcohol industry.

Nov. 2004: The American Medical Association (AMA) [see link and comment in top section] said they were "extremely troubled to learn that NASCAR will soon advertise hard liquor brands through sponsorships of race cars and teams. NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in America and boasts 75 million fans. We believe it should use its new-found marketing and cultural influence to be a positive role model, not to endanger the lives and health of youth through the glamorization of liquor.... Advertising works. A 2003 study revealed that 46 percent of NASCAR fans said that the ads during races were an important source of product information. NASCAR — already a billion-dollar industry — is clearly willing to trade the health and safety of its young viewers for more profits."

Feb. 2004: The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity -- a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation reviews more than 40 studies and concludes children who spend the most time with media are more likely to be overweight.

A December 2003 study from the Harvard School of Public Health provides statistics on the relationship between the amount of television adolescents watch and the amount of fruits and vegetables they consume.

The Parents Television Council [see link and comment in top section] released their own study in December 2003 citing the frequency of violence in primetime network television.

Teenagers who have non-aggressive personalities but play a lot of violent video games are almost 10 times as likely to get into a physical fight than teens who don't play the games, according to one of four studies published in the Feb 2004 issue of the Journal of Adolescence. More surprisingly, teens who play a lot of violent games are more likely to get into a fight than those who are aggressive but don't play them. Read the article in the Toronto Globe and Mail.