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The growing number of children who are obese or overweight in certain countries or geographical areas is a fact, as evidenced by the continuous studies and reports on the subject, endorsed or carried out by the World Health Organisation and independent research. In this context, food and beverage advertising can contribute to this. The main objective of this research is to evaluate compliance with the Food and Drink Advertising Code for Children (PAOS Code) in Spain and its relationship with nutritional habits on television, specifically on channels aimed at children. The methodology is therefore mixed: on the one hand, a qualitative technique based on discourse analysis and, on the other, a quantitative technique based on the content analysis of the advertising broadcast for seven consecutive days on three specialised channels and two generalist channels on Spanish television. The results reveal a systematic noncompliance with this code, which translates into inadequate eating habits among children. The immediate conclusion is that 9 out of 10 parts of food and drink advertising do not comply with any of the rules of the PAOS Code and that self-regulation by the advertising companies is negligible and insufficient.

Eating Disorders (ED) and obesity are a pandemic in developed and developing societies. In 2018, Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption reported data on obesity (15%) and ED (12%). Spain thus ranks fifth among European countries in childhood obesity, with the highest incidence in the 6-12-year-age group. Many studies point to media as one of the contributing elements to this growth. In this sense, it should be noted that Spanish children are exposed to an average of 9000 television commercials per year and the vast majority of these are for food and beverage products of little or no nutritional value. Educommunication becomes essential here, since media have the capacity to educate, prevent and influence the behaviour as part of their social marketing strategies and within the happiness management philosophy. The aim of this paper is to analyse food and beverage advertising on mobile devices aimed at children. The methodology used includes a content analysis, a survey, and focus groups. The results show that many of the food products are bought or ordered as a direct result of advertising. The main conclusions point to the need to regulate the messages transmitted in order to guide the social function of media so that public health and happiness can be improved.