Australian Children's Exposure to, and Engagement With, Web-Based Marketing of Food and Drink Brands: Cross-sectional Observational Study.

Bridget Kelly,Rebecca Bosward,Becky Freeman

doi:10.2196/28144

Abstract

BackgroundFood is one of the most frequently promoted commodities, and promoted foods are overwhelmingly unhealthy. Marketing normalizes unhealthy foods, creates a positive brand image, and encourages overconsumption. Limited research is available to describe the extent of food marketing to children on web-based media, and measuring actual exposure is challenging.ObjectiveThis study aims to monitor the extent of children’s exposure to web-based media food marketing as an essential step in increasing the accountability of industry and governments to protect children.MethodsChildren aged 13-17 years were recruited from October 2018 to March 2019. Children recorded their mobile device screen for 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day any time they visited relevant web-based platforms. After each day, the participants uploaded the video files to a secure server. Promoted products were defined using the World Health Organization European Region nutrient profile model.ResultsThe sample of 95 children uploaded 267.8 hours of video data. Children saw a median of 17.4 food promotions each hour on the internet. Considering the usual time spent on the internet on mobile devices, children would be exposed to a median of 168.4 food promotions on the web on mobile devices per week, 99.5 of which would not be permitted to be marketed based on nutrient profiling criteria. Most promotions (2613/4446, 58.77%) were peer endorsed and derived from third-party sources.ConclusionsExposure to brand content that is seemingly endorsed by peers or web-based communities likely heightens the effects of marketing on children. Regulations to protect children from this marketing must extend beyond paid advertising to paid content in posts generated through web-based communities and influencers.

Highlights

Protecting children from the impacts of unhealthy food and beverage marketing has been repeatedly identified at the highest levels of global policy agenda setting as a priority intervention for childhood obesity prevention
Considering the usual time spent on the internet on mobile devices, children would be exposed to a median of 168.4 food promotions on the web on mobile devices per week, 99.5 of which would not be permitted to be marketed based on nutrient profiling criteria
Independent variables included participant age, usual weekly time spent on mobile devices, number of accounts followed on social media, number

Summary

Introduction

Background Protecting children from the impacts of unhealthy food and beverage marketing has been repeatedly identified at the highest levels of global policy agenda setting as a priority intervention for childhood obesity prevention. Robust empirical and review evidence indicates that children’s exposure to food marketing leads to a cascade of effects, including food brand awareness, positive brand attitudes, and purchase and consumption behaviors [3]. For more than a decade, evidence on children’s exposures to, and the impacts of, food marketing has identified the increasing prominence of digital or web-based media marketing [6]. Limited research is available to describe the extent of food marketing to children on web-based media, and measuring actual exposure is challenging

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion