RESEARCH PAPER Density of outdoor food and beverage advertising around schools in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) and Manila (The Philippines) and implications for policy Bridget Kelly a *, Lesley King b , Batjargal Jamiyan c , Nyamragchaa Chimedtseren c , Bolorchimeg Bold d , Victoria M. Medina e , Sarah J. De los Reyes f , Nichel V. Marquez g , Anna Christine P. Rome h,i , Ariane Margareth O. Cabanes j , John Juliard Go k , Tsogzolmaa Bayandorj l , Marie Clem B. Carlos m and Cherian Varghese m a Early Start Research Institute, School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; b Prevention Research Collaboration, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia; c Nutrition Research Department, National Center for Public Health, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; d Ministry of Health, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; e Institute of Community and Family Health Inc., Quezon City, The Philippines; f Dr. Fe Del Mundo Medical Center, Quezon City, The Philippines; g Activeone Health Inc, Manila, The Philippines; h Independent Research Assistant, Manila, The Philippines; i College of Home Economics, University of the Philippines, Manila, The Philippines; j Independent Advertising Consultant, Manila, The Philippines; k World Health Organization Representative Office in the Philippines, Manila, The Philippines; l World Health Organization Representative Office in Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; m Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion, World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific, Manila, The Philippines (Received 6 February 2014; accepted 30 June 2014) Children’ s exposure to unhealthy food marketing is recognised by leading inter- national health organisations as a probable causal factor for obesity. Outdoor advertising near schools embeds commercial food messages into children’ s everyday lives and acts as a cue for food purchases. This project aimed to describe food advertising in the area around schools in two demographically and culturally disparate cities in the Asia Pacific Region. Data on outdoor food advertising were collected from the area within 500 m of 30 primary schools in each of two cities: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Manila, The Philippines. For each food advertisement, information was collected on: distance from the school (within 250 or 500 m); size, setting, type and position of the advertisement; and the food/drink product type promoted (core/healthy, non-core/unhealthy and miscellaneous). Density of advertisements was calculated per 100 m 2 . The den- sity of food advertising was twice as high in the area closest to schools com- pared to the area further from schools (.9 vs. .5 in Ulaanbaatar and 6.5 vs. 3.3 advertisements per 100 m 2 in Manila). Almost all food advertisements were for non-core/unhealthy foods/drinks (92% in Ulaanbaatar and 85% in Manila), and soft drinks were most frequently promoted. Children in Ulaanbaatar and Manila are exposed to large numbers of advertisements for unhealthy foods/drinks on their way to and from school, and these are particularly clustered within the immediate vicinity of schools. Clear directions for policy development are out- lined to reduce children’ s exposure to this marketing, including restricting the placement and content of outdoor advertising. Keywords: food; beverage; advertising; marketing; school; children *Corresponding author. Email: bkelly@uow.edu.au © 2014 Taylor & Francis Critical Public Health, 2015 Vol. 25, No. 3, 280–290, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2014.940850