[Quality of Food Products Announced on Television Before and After the Plan to Improve Their Composition, 2017-2020]

Objective: To compare the nutritional quality of the foods and beverages advertised on television in Spain, before and after the plan to improve their composition.

Method: DTT broadcasts of the more popular channels were recorded in children's hours. Every advertised products in commercial breaks were registered and their nutritional data collected. We compared the distribution of frequencies by food categories and their adherence to the nutritional standards of the World Health Organization in 2017 and 2020.

Results: In 256h of broadcasting we identified 173 products (78 in 2017 and 95 in 2020). The most advertised products were chocolates (26.9% in 2017 and 22.1% in 2020). 76.3% of the products advertised were unhealthy (76.9% in 2017 vs. 75.8% in 2020; p=0.86).

Conclusions: The nutritional profile of the foods and drinks advertised on television, mostly unhealthy, did not change after the implementation of the plan to improve their composition. A regulation is needed to protect children from food advertising.