Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

Young influencers get billions of views peddling junk food to kids, study says

Young influencers get billions of views peddling junk food to kids, study says

Young ‘influencers’ are being used to peddle unhealthy junk food to other kids via YouTube – racking up a ‘staggering’ one billion views, warns a new study.

Researchers described the use of children with ‘wildly popular’ YouTube channels to frequently promote unhealthy food and drinks in their videos to other kids as a ‘perfect storm for encouraging poor nutrition.’

American food and drink firms spend US$1.8 billion a year (£1.37 billion) marketing their products to young people.

Although TV advertising is a major source of food marketing, companies have dramatically increased online advertising in response to growing social media use.

Study senior author Dr Marie Bragg, of NYU School of Global Public Health, said: ‘Kids already see several thousand food commercials on television every year, and adding these YouTube videos on top of it may make it even more difficult for parents and children to maintain a healthy diet.

‘We need a digital media environment that supports healthy eating instead of discouraging it.’


YouTube is the second most popular website in the world


YouTube is the second most visited website in the world and is a popular destination for kids seeking entertainment.

More than 80 per cent of parents with a child under 12 allows them to watch YouTube, and 35 per cent of parents report that their child watches YouTube regularly.

Dr Bragg said: ‘The allure of YouTube may be especially strong in 2020 as many parents are working remotely and have to juggle the challenging task of having young kids at home because of Covid-19.’

She said that when finding videos for young children to watch, millions of parents turn to videos of ‘kid influencers’ – children whose parents film them doing activities such as science experiments, playing with toys, or celebrating their birthdays.

The growing popularity of such YouTube videos has caught the attention of companies, who advertise or sponsor posts to promote their products before or during videos. The highest-paid YouTube influencer of the past two years was actually an eight-year-old who earned $26 million(£19.8 million) last year.

Dr Bragg said: ‘Parents may not realise that kid influencers are often paid by food companies to promote unhealthy food and beverages in their videos.

‘Our study is the first to quantify the extent to which junk food product placements appear in YouTube videos from kid influencers.’


Companies have pivoted to YouTube to advertise junk food to kids


Dr Bragg and her colleagues identified the five most popular kid influencers on YouTube of 2019 – whose ages ranged from three to 14 years old – and analysed their most-watched videos.

Focusing on a sample of 418 YouTube videos, they recorded whether food or drinks were shown, what items and brands were shown, and assessed their nutritional quality.

Their findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, showed that nearly half of the most popular videos from kid influencers (42.8 per cent) promoted food and drinks.

More than 90 per cent of the products shown were unhealthy branded food, drinks, or fast food toys, with fast food as the most frequently featured junk food, followed by chocolate and fizzy drinks.

Only a few videos featured unhealthy unbranded items such as hot dogs (four per cent), healthy unbranded items such as fruit (three per cent), and healthy branded items such as yoghurt (two per cent).

The videos featuring junk food product placements were viewed more than one billion times – a ‘staggering’ level of exposure for food and drink firms.


Nearly half of the videos from kid influencers had food adverts attached and 90% of those were unhealthy


Dr Bragg said: ‘It was concerning to see that kid influencers are promoting a high volume of junk food in their YouTube videos, and that those videos are generating enormous amounts of screen time for these unhealthy products.’

While the researchers don’t know which food and drink product placements were paid endorsements, they find the videos ‘problematic’ for public health because they enable food firms to directly, yet subtly, promote unhealthy food to young children and their parents.

Dr Bragg added: ‘It’s a perfect storm for encouraging poor nutrition – research shows that people trust influencers because they appear to be ‘everyday people,’ and when you see these kid influencers eating certain foods, it doesn’t necessarily look like advertising.

‘But it is advertising, and numerous studies have shown that children who see food ads consume more calories than children who see non-food ads, which is why the National Academy of Medicine and World Health Organsation identify food marketing as a major driver of childhood obesity.’

The research team called on regulators to strengthen and enforce rules on junk food advertising by kid influencers.

Study co-author Dr Jennifer Pomeranz, Assistant Professor of public health policy and management at NYU School of Global Public Health, added: ‘We hope that the results of this study encourage the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to focus on this issue and identify strategies to protect children and public health.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
×