UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Candy, sweet and salty snacks, sugary drinks, and ice cream brands frequently appear in videos posted by top child-influencers on “made-for-kids” YouTube channels, according to a new paper from researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut. Video views for the 13 channels analyzed in this study exceeded 155 billion as of June 2020. 

The study’s findings, published in Pediatric Obesity, found that 38% of child-influencer videos featured branded food, beverage, or restaurant products, which appeared 4 times per video on average. Candy brands appeared most often (42% of brand appearances), followed by sweet and salty snacks, sugary drinks and ice cream (32% combined). Healthy branded products, such as bottled water, plain milk, or fruit, made up just 9% of food brand appearances.