Originally published: March 2026
Food marketing uses ads to make teens want to try certain foods and drinks. Teens see food and drink ads in many places throughout their day: on social media, public transit, the school cafeteria, food packages, recreation centres, video games, streaming websites, apps and more.
Food marketing can influence how teens think about food and drinks and the types of food and drinks they learn to like and buy as adults. Knowing how food marketing works can help your teen make smart choices about what they buy, eat and drink.
Here are some things you can do to help your teen outsmart food marketing.
Build awareness
When teens understand how food marketing tactics work, this may shift their thinking. Empower your teen to notice the following tactics and make smart choices for themselves.
- Talk with your teen about hidden forms of food marketing like contests, product placement, and sponsored posts created by social media influencers.
- Discuss how social media and websites use personal details to target ads.
Limit digital ads
Teens see two to three food and drink ads every half hour online. For teens who spend an average of four to six hours online each day this adds up to over 8,300 food and drink ads per year, mostly through social media and gaming apps. Many of these ads promote food and drinks with high amounts of salt, sugar, or fat, like fast food, sugar sweetened beverages, and sweet snacks. Here are some ways you can help limit the number of ads they see:
- Download free ad blockers to stop ads from showing up while streaming videos online.
- Look for streaming sites that allow you to remove ads.
- Encourage your teen to use the web version of social media sites when possible. This can help reduce ads, pop-up videos, sounds, and food product links.
Protect privacy
details like age, gender, location and online habits, through location tracking and online cookies. Online cookies are trackers that follow what someone does online, then saves this information to show them ads that match their interests. This information is often collected without teens knowing.
Try some of these ideas to help protect your teen’s privacy:
- Teach your teen to turn off website location tracking and reject website cookies.
- Delete unused apps to limit how much they collect and use personal details.
- Check privacy settings with your teen to ensure their personal information is safe online.
Create health tech habits
The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines suggest no more than two hours of total screen time per day for children ages 5 to 17. Here are some ways to balance screentime and reduce exposure to online marketing.
- Create daily time limits for digital games, video streaming, and social media apps.
- Set up “screen-free” times for the whole family, such as meals, when guests visit, or during the first hour in the morning, and the last hour before bed.
- Promote tech-free activities like sports, art, music, or time outside.
- Model balanced screen use. Try to keep phones and devices aside when you eat or spend time with your teen.
Make informed food choices
Food companies know that teens may have their own money to spend so these companies try to build teen loyalty early. Ads are often aimed towards teens based on their interests like sports, fitness, beauty, and relationships. It’s important for teens to understand how ads can use information on their interests, in misleading ways, making it seem like a certain food or drink reflects their personality, goals, or values.
- Use nutrition labels to guide decisions, not packages or ads.
- Teach teens to question why they want to purchase a certain food, drink or brand—is it because they want to look cool? Does it provide the nutrients they need? Is an influencer promoting the product?
- Explore trusted nutrition advice like Canada’s Food Guideand Healthy Eating Starts Here.
Inspire community changes
Small steps can go a long way to create healthy spaces and places for teens. Try one or two of these ideas at home, in your community, or with your teen’s school, sports team or club:
- Start conversations. If you notice food and drink marketing in your teen’s school, sports arena, or recreation centre, ask staff if there are ways to reduce or avoid these types of ads.
- Suggest new ways to raise funds. Work with teachers or parent councils to try healthy fundraising ideas.
Teens are smart and when they understand how food marketing works, they’re more likely to make choices that reflect their values. By staying informed and involved, you can help your teen recognize food marketing and make food choices that nourish their health and independence.
For more information, visit:
- Marketing can influence your food choices
- Dealing with marketing: What parents can do
- How to talk to your kids about marketing
