Associations between State-Level Obesity Rates, Engagement with Food Brands on Social Media, and Hashtag Usage.

Marie A Bragg,Jaime Coffino,Zora Hall,Yuanqi Gu,Rebecca Boswell

doi:10.3390/ijerph182312785

Marie A Bragg, Jaime Coffino + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312785

Copy DOI

Abstract

Food advertisement exposure is associated with increased caloric intake, but little is known about food/beverage placements in the digital media environment. We aimed to examine the correlation between the number of people who follow food and beverage brand social media accounts (i.e., user engagement) and state-level obesity rates; quantify social media followers’ use of “healthy” vs. “unhealthy” hashtags; and analyze the relationship between user engagement and hashtag usage. We identified the 26 fast-food and beverage brands with the highest advertising expenditures and used Demographics Pro to determine the characteristics of social media users amongst the 26 brands. A series of regression analyses were conducted that related the mean percentage of brand followers and state-level obesity rates. We then identified 733 hashtags on Instagram and 703 hashtags on Twitter, coding them as “healthy”, “unhealthy”, “neutral”, or “unrelated to health”. Intercoder reliability was established using ReCal2, which indicated a 90% agreement between coders. Finally, we conducted ANCOVA to examine the relationship between the mean percentage of brand followers and their hashtag usage. There was a significant, positive correlation between the state-level obesity rate and the mean percentage of followers of sugary drink or fast-food brands on Instagram and Twitter, but such a correlation between obesity and low-calorie drink brand followers was only found on Twitter. Our findings illustrate the relationship between the social media food environment and obesity rates in the United States. Given the high rates of engagement with food brands on social media, policies should limit digital advertisements featuring fast-food, sugary drink, and low-calorie drink brands.

Highlights

Obesity rates are high in the United States, with 42.4% [1] of adults and 18.5% [2]of children classified as having obesity (body mass index (BMI) > 30; Center for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC), 2020)
It is important to note that the highly ranked states did not always have a higher mean percentage of brand followers, because the average number of social media users differed by each state
Our findings suggest that following unhealthy food and beverage brands on social media correlates with increased obesity rates throughout the United States

Summary

Introduction

Obesity rates are high in the United States, with 42.4% [1] of adults and 18.5% [2]of children classified as having obesity (body mass index (BMI) > 30; Center for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC), 2020). Obesity rates are high in the United States, with 42.4% [1] of adults and 18.5% [2]. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of negative health consequences [3,4] and higher medical care costs in the United States [5]. The risk factors for obesity are varied, but the food environment is one of the most notable, as it determines the accessibility and availability of both healthy and unhealthy food in a person’s diet. The food environment is, in part, determined by proximity to fast-food restaurants and convenience stores, with shorter distances associated with an increased risk of obesity [6]. Even the outdoor food advertising landscape has been named as a major public health concern for promoting unhealthy products in neighborhoods that already experience high rates of obesity.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion