Are Primetime Diets Congruent With Dietary Recommendations? Content Analyses of Food Advertisements in the United States, China, and Singapore

Su Lin Yeo,Jerome Williams,Ying-Yi Hong,May Lwin,Wonsun Shin

doi:10.1080/23762004.2017.1278991

Abstract

Despite public programs to promote healthy eating among populations in developed and developing countries, the increase in obesity as a result of poor dietary patterns continues to persist. As food advertising has been implicated for contributing to this global health challenge, this study aims to provide empirical evidence on food advertising in a broader global context, across economically and culturally different nations. We conducted a large scale content analysis of the types of food advertised on primetime television in the United States, China, and Singapore, which resulted in the collection of 1,008 television hours. Using the dietary blue2376s proposed by the health authorities as the applied framework, the study compared the types of food advertised against the dietary parameters. Findings showed that despite differences in economic development and cultures, food advertised on primetime television across three countries are incongruent with dietary recommendations. The study offers insights on h...

Highlights

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide
We conducted a large scale content analysis of the types of food advertised on primetime television in the United States, China, and Singapore, which resulted in the collection of 1,008 television hours
The objective of this study aims to examine and compare the types of food and beverage (F&B) promoted on television in the United States, China, and Singapore using content analysis and comparing the results against the dietary parameters provided by the respective health authorities

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that obesity across the globe has doubled since 1980. In the United States, 70.7% of adults are overweight and 37.9% are obese (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). By 2030, the number of obese Americans is forecast to balloon to 86.3% (Wang, Beydoun, Liang, Caballero, & Kumanyika, 2008). In Singapore, a modern multiethnic city-state in Southeast Asia, the rate of obesity increased from 6.8% in 2004 to 10.8% in 2010 (National Health Survey, 2010). A health problem once confined to high-income countries, obesity is on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (WHO, 2014). As of 2013, China is ranked second in this category followed by India, Russia, and Brazil (Ng et al, 2014)

Objectives

Methods

Results