Outdoor Food and Beverage Advertising: A Saturated Environment

Abstract

Overweight and obesity have been increasing among youth, with the prevalence of overweight among children and teens in the US tripling since 1980 (Ogden & Carroll, 2010). While the prevalence rates have leveled off in recent years (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal, 2010; Ogden, Carroll, Kit, & Flegal, 2012), the rates of obesity-related diseases continue to rise (Knip et al., 2008), and health disparities exist in the prevalence of overweight and obesity across racial/ethnic groups, with African American and Hispanic youth at higher risk of being overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2012). One factor that has been associated with obesity is exposure to food and beverage advertising (Institute of Medicine, 2006). Additionally, racial ethnic minorities have been disproportionately targeted and exposed to this type of advertising (see Chaps. 16, 17, and 18). One form of food and beverage advertising that has received less attention is outdoor advertising. As such, the purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on outdoor food and beverage advertising and provide researchers and community practitioners with a tool to document and describe this type of advertising in their own communities. We will also present pilot data from our study designed to document and describe food and beverage advertising around schools and end with a discussion on policy implications and future directions for research in this area.