Jessica Castonguay

Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Food Marketing to Children

INTRODUCTION Concern has grown about the role of televised food advertising as a contributor to childhood obesity. In response, the food industry adopted a program of self-regulation, with participating companies pledging to limit child-targeted advertising to healthier products. The implicit promise of the industry initiative is a significant improvement in the overall nutritional quality of foods marketed to children, thereby negating the need for governmental regulation to accomplish that objective. This study assesses the efficacy of industry self-regulation by comparing advertising content on childrens TV programs before and after self-regulation was implemented. METHODS A systematic content analysis of food advertisements (n=625 in 2007, n=354 in 2013) appearing in childrens TV programs on the most popular cable and broadcast channels was conducted. RESULTS All analyses were conducted in 2014. Findings indicated that no significant improvement in the overall nutritional quality of foods marketed to children has been achieved since industry self-regulation was adopted. In 2013, 80.5% of all foods advertised to children on TV were for products in the poorest nutritional category, and thus pose high risk for contributing to obesity. CONCLUSIONS The lack of significant improvement in the nutritional quality of food marketed to children is likely a result of the weak nutritional standards for defining healthy foods employed by industry, and because a substantial proportion of child-oriented food marketers do not participate in self-regulation. The lack of success achieved by self-regulation indicates that other policy actions are needed to effectively reduce childrens exposure to obesogenic food advertising.

Health‐related messages in food advertisements targeting children

Purpose – The goal of this study was to assess the use of “health” messages in food advertising in the USA which target children. The aim was to determine if these messages indicate the promotion of a healthful product or are a marketing tactic to promote unhealthy items, potentially undermining nutrition education efforts.Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of food advertisements (n=534) in childrens television shows (n=141) was performed to identify three types of health messages. The type of products promoted with such messages and the nutritional value of those products were assessed.Findings – Over half of food advertisements targeting children use “health” messages, with commercials for fast foods and sugared cereals most likely to include them. The majority of advertisements for nutritionally poor foods include a “health” message.Research limitations/implications – The findings from this research cannot be used to predict the impact health messages have on young viewers, but rather de...

Alignment of Children’s Food Advertising With Proposed Federal Guidelines

INTRODUCTION It is well established that children are exposed to food marketing promoting calorically dense, low-nutrient products. Reducing exposure to obesogenic marketing presents an opportunity to improve childrens health. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which televised food advertising practices targeting children (aged ≤12 years) were consistent with guidelines proposed by a coalition of federal authorities known as the Interagency Working Group on Foods Marketed to Children (IWG). METHODS A sample of childrens TV programming aired on five national broadcast networks and two cable channels (N=103 shows) was recorded February to April 2013. The sample contained 354 food ads. Advertised products were identified and categorized using industry classification codes and nutrient data obtained from manufacturers. Product compliance with IWG saturated fat, trans fat, added sugar, and sodium guidelines was evaluated. RESULTS Analyses conducted in 2013 revealed that nearly all food ads (94%) met guidelines for trans fats; 68% and 62% met guidelines for sodium and saturated fat, respectively; and 20% complied with added sugar guidelines. Overall, 1.4% of all child-targeted food ads met all aspects of IWG guidelines. CONCLUSIONS Nearly all food advertisements exceeded guidelines for at least one recommended nutrient to limit. Individually, conformity was high for guidelines for trans fats, moderate for sodium and saturated fats, and poor for added sugar. These findings suggest that child-targeted food advertising remains strongly biased toward less healthy options. Policymakers wishing to regulate food marketing should understand the amount and types of advertisements that children view.

Solution or Smokescreen? Evaluating Industry Self-Regulation of Televised Food Marketing to Children

It is well established that childrens exposure to television advertising for unhealthy food products contributes to the epidemic of childhood obesity. Given this finding, public health officials recommended that the government restrict unhealthy food marketing to children if the industry does not accomplish that goal voluntarily. Food marketers responded by adopting industry self-regulation several years ago, but this study finds that it has produced only marginal improvements in the overall nutritional quality of foods advertised to youth. Unless federal policy-makers intervene, it appears that unhealthy food marketing to children will continue to contribute to childhood obesity in the future.

Sugar and Sports Age Differences in Children’s Responses to a High Sugar Cereal Advertisement Portraying Physical Activities

This study experimentally investigated whether exposing children to a television advertisement for a high sugar cereal that depicts physical activities influences their perceptions of the promoted food and activities differently than exposure to an advertisement for the same product without the depiction of physical activities. Children aged 5 to 6 and 10 to 11 years (N = 136) were compared to reveal age differences in responses to this marketing practice. Exposure to the advertisement depicting physical activities had an immediate strengthening effect on all children’s perceptions of the food’s healthfulness as well as younger children’s attitudes toward the product. The ability to recognize juxtaposed beliefs regarding a product’s healthfulness protected children from some of the influence of this marketing strategy.

The effect of advertising on children and adolescents

In ∼100 years, marketing to children went from a severely frowned upon practice to an integral part of growing up as companies came to realize that investing in marketing to children and adolescents provides excellent immediate and future dividends. Each year, enormous sums of money are spent to reach this valuable audience because children and adolescents spend billions on their own purchases, influence family decisions about what to buy, and promise a potential lifetime of brand loyalty. The channels to reach youth have grown, and marketers are increasingly using them, often blurring the distinction between entertainment and advertising. Because advertising to children and adolescents has become ubiquitous, researchers who study its influence raise significant concerns about the practice, especially as it relates to dietary behavior, family conflict, marketer tactics, and children’s potential vulnerability as an audience. In this review by the Workgroup on Marketing and Advertising, we highlight the state of the research in this area and suggest that more research needs to be conducted on understanding the following: the effects of advertising exposure, how psychological development affects children’s responses to marketing, the problems associated with advertising in newer media, and how researchers, parents, and practitioners might be able to mitigate the most deleterious advertising effects. We then present avenues of future research along with recommendations for key stakeholders.

Seeking Help for Depression: Applying the Health Belief Model to Illness Narratives

ABSTRACT Many individuals with depression experience difficulty seeking help. To better understand the help-seeking process, we analyzed narratives produced during interviews with individuals who sought treatment. We examined these narratives within the framework of the health belief model and then engaged in emergent, thematic coding within each of the categories. Our findings suggest that, for depressed individuals, one’s uncertainty regarding the condition and treatment drives each element of the health belief model. The main barrier preventing help-seeking was fear of the unknown treatment process. Interpersonal cues to action served to reduce uncertainty by providing guidance and confirmation that help was needed. Interventions should target friends and family of depressed individuals and provide information regarding the treatment process to effectively reduce uncertainty and drive help-seeking.

Portraying physical activity in food advertising targeting children

Purpose – Childhood obesity is a serious health concern (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013) and advertising exposure is known to be a contributing factor (Institute of Medicine (IOM), 2006). In recent years consumers have expressed an increased interest in products appearing healthy and food companies have committed to changing their child-targeted marketing practices to promote a healthy lifestyle. The purpose of this paper is to examine depictions of physical activity in food advertising and assess how recognition of a promoted food’s healthy and unhealthy traits influences dietary selections among youth in Southern Arizona in the USA. Design/methodology/approach – A content analysis of food advertisements aired during 2009-2013 (n=534 and 354, respectively) identified changes to child-targeted food marketing messages. A structured interview determined differences in recognition of “juxtaposed beliefs” (i.e. that are contradictory and both healthy and unhealthy e.g. connecting exercise with a food h...

You eat “like a girl”: gender differences in content and effects of food advertising depicting sports

ABSTRACT Research to date is just beginning to examine the nature and impact of portrayals of physical activity on children’s attitudes in the marketing literature. The following two-part study therefore examines gender differences in the content and effects of food advertising depicting physical activities among children. Study one presents a content analysis of food advertisements shown during children’s television programming, revealing that healthy foods are associated with females while healthy activities are associated predominantly with males. Study two then examines children’s responses to an advertisement for an unhealthy food that portrays both male and female characters engaged in physical activities. Gender differences appeared to be the result of males’ greater belief that a junk food can aid in one’s physical abilities, leading them to hold greater intentions to engage in physical activity as compared to females and males who viewed an ad without physical activity.

The moderating role of age in the relationship between social media use and mental well-being: An analysis of the 2016 General Social Survey

Abstract The relationship between using social networking sites (SNS) and mental health is a thriving area of research producing mixed results. While terms such as “Facebook depression” have gained popularity in the mainstream press, there is not a consensus on the relationship between SNS use and mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. Mixed results from past research hint that age might moderate the SNS/mental health relationship, yet no specific tests of this interaction have been previously reported. In this study, we examine the relationship by analyzing data from the 2016 General Social Survey (GSS). We show that, overall, the number of SNSs one uses is positively related to respondents reporting that they have felt like they were going to have a nervous breakdown. While this relationship is positive for respondents 30 years old and older, it is negative for those who are 18–29 years olds.