This study investigates the impact of television food advertising on eating behavior, particularly snacking. The research hypothesizes that exposure to food advertising during television viewing may contribute to obesity by triggering automatic snacking of available food. Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1a and 1b involved elementary-school-aged children watching cartoons with food or non-food advertising while receiving a snack, and Experiment 2 involved adults watching a television program with food advertising followed by an evaluation of various snack foods. The results show that children consumed 45% more snack food when exposed to food advertising, and adults consumed more of both healthy and unhealthy snack foods following exposure to snack food advertising. The effects were not related to reported hunger or other conscious influences. The findings suggest that food advertising can prime automatic eating behaviors, influencing consumption beyond brand preference alone. The study highlights the need for further research on the effects of food advertising on different age groups and the development of strategies to protect against its influence.This study investigates the impact of television food advertising on eating behavior, particularly snacking. The research hypothesizes that exposure to food advertising during television viewing may contribute to obesity by triggering automatic snacking of available food. Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1a and 1b involved elementary-school-aged children watching cartoons with food or non-food advertising while receiving a snack, and Experiment 2 involved adults watching a television program with food advertising followed by an evaluation of various snack foods. The results show that children consumed 45% more snack food when exposed to food advertising, and adults consumed more of both healthy and unhealthy snack foods following exposure to snack food advertising. The effects were not related to reported hunger or other conscious influences. The findings suggest that food advertising can prime automatic eating behaviors, influencing consumption beyond brand preference alone. The study highlights the need for further research on the effects of food advertising on different age groups and the development of strategies to protect against its influence.