Digital marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents is pervasive and undermines healthy eating. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ time spent online for both recreation and school using educational technology doubled from 3.8 to 7.7 hours per day for 12- to13-year-olds, and racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities widened with children of color and those from families with low incomes spending more time online. As schools continue using educational technology beyond the pandemic, policy interventions to limit digital food marketing in schools and on school-issued devices are needed.

Full Report: The Reducing Student Exposure to Digital Food and Beverage Marketing report highlights four areas where state and local education authorities can play a role in reducing digital food marketing through their own policies and provides model policy language for each.

Issue Brief: This brief provides a summary of four areas that can be considered for state and local policy intervention. See the full report for model policy language and additional background on the study.