Gabrielle Jenkin

A systematic review of persuasive marketing techniques to promote food to children on television

The ubiquitous marketing of energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor food and beverages is a key modifiable influence on childhood dietary patterns and obesity. Much of the research on television food advertising is focused on identifying and quantifying unhealthy food marketing with comparatively few studies examining persuasive marketing techniques to promote unhealthy food to children. This review identifies the most frequently documented persuasive marketing techniques to promote food to children via television. A systematic search of eight online databases using key search terms identified 267 unique articles. Thirty‐eight articles met the inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis of the reviewed studies revealed the most commonly reported persuasive techniques used on television to promote food to children. These were the use of premium offers, promotional characters, nutrition and health‐related claims, the theme of taste, and the emotional appeal of fun. Identifying and documenting these commonly reported persuasive marketing techniques to promote food to children on television is critical for the monitoring and evaluation of advertising codes and industry pledges and the development of further regulation in this area. This has a strong potential to curbing the international obesity epidemic besieging children throughout the world.

Framing obesity: the framing contest between industry and public health at the New Zealand inquiry into obesity.

Drawing on submissions to the 2006–2007 New Zealand Inquiry into Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, this article outlines how the food and marketing industries (industry) and the public health sector framed the issue of obesity. The analysis revealed that industry framed obesity as a consequence of poor lifestyle choices attributed largely to knowledge, cultural or other character deficits. Industry argued that lack of physical activity rather than increased food consumption was the dominant cause of obesity. In contrast, public health groups positioned obesity as a normal response to an obesogenic environment, characterized by the ubiquitous marketing and availability of low‐cost, energy‐dense/nutrient‐poor foods. For public health groups, increased consumption of energy‐dense/nutrient‐poor foods was positioned as the dominant cause of obesity. Many public health submitters also suggested that social inequalities contributed to obesity. Industry emphasized education as the key solution to obesity, while public health groups argued for regulation of the activities of the food and marketing industries, and policies to address wider determinants of health and social inequalities. Identifying and documenting these frames, by making transparent the interests of the frames sponsors, contributes to greater understanding of the wider policy context around obesity and provides useful information for public health advocacy.

New Media but Same Old Tricks: Food Marketing to Children in the Digital Age

Abstract‘New media’ refers to digital technologies, which offer unmatched opportunities for food companies to engage with young people. This paper explores the emergence of food marketing using new media, the potential impact of this marketing on young people, and current and potential policy responses to limit exposure to these promotions. Foremost in any informed policy discussion is the need for robust evidence to demonstrate the need for intervention. In this case, such evidence relates to the extent of children’s exposures to commercial food promotions via new media, and the nature of these promotions. Approaches to, and challenges of, collecting and assessing these data are discussed. There is accumulating evidence that food marketing on new media is increasing and influences children’s food preferences and choices. The impact of integrated campaigns, which reinforce commercial messages across multiple platforms, and of new media, which engage personally with potential consumers, is likely to be greater than that of traditional marketing.

Informing outdoor smokefree policy: Methods for measuring the proportion of people smoking in outdoor public areas

INTRODUCTION To advance the design and implementation of outdoor smokefree area policies, we aimed to develop simple, low-cost methods for measuring smoking in a variety of public places. METHODS Two methods were developed and were used by solo observers during March 2011-February 2012 to measure the proportion of people smoking at a variety of sites. RESULTS Both methods performed well (n=5553 people observed); the first at 58 sites in the UK and New Zealand (n=3191 observed); the second at 33 sites in New Zealand (n=2362 observed), with significant differences found between the smoking at types of sites and between countries. For the two countries combined, the proportions of people smoking (amongst those over 12 years) in childrens play areas was significantly lower compared to all the other sites combined (risk ratio=0.39; 95%CI: 0.20 to 0.76; p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS Solo observers can establish the proportion of people smoking in a range of outdoor sites. Such methods can inform outdoor smokefree area policymaking by providing baseline and post-policy data to enable location targeting and policy evaluation.

Nutrition policy in whose interests? A New Zealand case study

OBJECTIVE In the context of the global obesity epidemic, national nutrition policies have come under scrutiny. The present paper examines whose interests - industry or public health - are served by these policies and why. DESIGN Using an exemplary case study of submissions to an inquiry into obesity, the research compared the positions of industry and public health groups with that taken by government. We assessed whether the interests were given equal consideration (a pluralist model of influence) or whether the interests of one group were favoured over the other (a neo-pluralist model). SETTING 2006 New Zealand Inquiry into Obesity. SUBJECTS Food and advertising industry and public health submitters. RESULTS The Governments position was largely aligned with industry interests in three of four policy domains: the national obesity strategy; food industry policy; and advertising and marketing policies. The exception to this was nutrition policy in schools, where the Governments position was aligned with public health interests. These findings support the neo-pluralist model of interest group influence. CONCLUSIONS The dominance of the food industry in national nutrition policy needs to be addressed. It is in the interests of the public, industry and the state that government regulates the food and advertising industries and limits the involvement of industry in policy making. Failure to do so will be costly for individuals, in terms of poor health and earlier death, costly to governments in terms of the associated health costs, and costly to both the government and industry due to losses in human productivity.

The New Zealand Socio-economic Index of Occupational Status: methodological revision and imputation for missing data

Objectives: To revise and update the New Zealand Socio‐economic Index (NZSEI) in the light of methodological issues in its construction, and to develop an imputation method for use where occupational information is not available.

Acceptability of a guided self-help mental health intervention in general practice

BACKGROUND People with subthreshold mental health syndromes are common in general practice and represent an important morbidity and disability burden. Management options are currently limited. We examined the acceptability of a novel ultra-brief guided self-help intervention designed specifically for use in this setting. OBJECTIVE To assess clinician and patient satisfaction with an ultra-brief guided self-help intervention to address subthreshold mental health syndromes in the primary care setting. METHODS Consenting patients were given the ultra-brief intervention in a series of three 15- to 30-minute coaching sessions over a 5-week period. DESIGN survey interview of clinician and patient satisfaction with and acceptability of the intervention. SETTING general practices in Wellington, New Zealand. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE clinician and patient acceptability of the intervention was assessed by survey questionnaire at 3 months. Baseline and follow-up mental health status assessments were undertaken using the Kessler-10 measure of psychological distress. RESULTS Six clinicians recruited 19 patient participants, 16 of whom completed the intervention. Based on questionnaire feedback, clinician and patient satisfaction ratings were very positive. However, clinicians expressed a concern that the length of the sessions was sometimes inadequate. The psychological well-being of the patients, as measured by the Kessler-10, was also significantly improved post-intervention. CONCLUSION The intervention appeared to improve the psychological well-being of the patients and was regarded positively by both clinicians and patient participants. Further testing of the efficacy of the intervention on a larger sample with a randomized controlled trial study design is warranted.

Consuming calories and creating cavities: beverages NZ children associate with sport.

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are widely available, discounted and promoted, and despite recommendations to the contrary, frequently consumed by children. They provide few nutritional benefits, and their consumption is implicated in a number of poor health outcomes. This study examined the nature of the beverages that sport-playing New Zealand (NZ) children associate with sport. It assessed how well the beverages aligned with nutrition guidelines and relevant regulations, and their likely impacts on health. Eighty-two children (38 girls and 44 boys) aged 10-12 years were purposively selected from netball, rugby and football clubs in low and high socioeconomic neighbourhoods, in Wellington, New Zealand (NZ). Children photographed beverages they associated with sport. The beverages were then purchased and analysed in accordance with NZ nutrition guidelines, and relevant content and labelling regulations, by: package and serving size; energy, sugar, sodium and caffeine content; pH; and advisory statements. The beverages the children associated with sport overwhelmingly had characteristics which do not support children in adhering to NZ nutrition guidelines. Implementing public health mechanisms, such as healthy food and beverage policies, widely promoting water as the beverage of choice in sport, and implementing healthy eating and drinking campaigns in sports clubs, would assist children who play organised sport to select beverages that are in keeping with childrens nutrition guidelines. As part of a comprehensive public health approach they would also reduce the substantial, unnecessary and potentially harmful contribution sugar-sweetened beverages make to their diet.

Using SenseCam to capture children's exposure to food marketing: a feasibility study

Childrens exposure to food marketing across multiple everyday settings has not yet been objectively documented. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using automated camera devices to record childrens exposure to food marketing across a variety of settings. A sample of six children (aged 12) wore the ViconRevue 3MP device for a period of two days, following which they attended a focus group to ascertain their experiences of using the device. Automated camera devices may be effective tools for documenting the extent of food marketing in a number of childrens settings. However, for this technology to be considered feasible, operational issues with the SenseCam device and the analysis of image data must be resolved.

Ethical considerations in sensitive suicide research reliant on non-clinical researchers

The impact on researchers of working with sensitive data is often not considered by ethics committees when approving research proposals. We conducted interviews with eight research assistants processing clinical notes on emergency department presentations for deliberate self-harm and suicide attempts during a suicide prevention trial. Common experiences of working with the data included feeling unprepared for the level of detail in the records, being drawn deeply into individual stories, emotional exhaustion from the cumulative exposure to the data over long periods of time while working alone, and experiencing a heightened awareness of the fragility of life and the need for safety. The research assistants also reported on some of the strategies they had developed to cope with the sensitive nature of the data and the demands of the work. The ethical implications for suicide research reliant on non-clinically trained researchers exploring sensitive data are considered. These include the need for research leaders and ethics committees to be aware of the potential adverse mental health impacts for these researchers examining sensitive data and to make appropriate arrangements to minimize the mental health impacts of such work.