1
|
Potvin Kent M, Bagnato M, Amson A, Remedios L, Pritchard M, Sabir S, Gillis G, Pauzé E, Vanderlee L, White C, Hammond D. #junkfluenced: the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages by social media influencers popular with Canadian children on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act 2024; 21:37. [PMID: 38605322 PMCID: PMC11010392 DOI: 10.1186/s12966-024-01589-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Marketing of unhealthy foods to children on digital media significantly impacts their dietary preferences and contributes to diet-related noncommunicable diseases. Canadian children spend a significant amount of time on digital devices and are frequently exposed to unhealthy food marketing on social media, including by influencers with celebrity status who endorse products. This study aimed to examine the frequency, healthfulness, and power of unhealthy food marketing in posts by influencers popular with Canadian children on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. METHODS The top 9 influencers popular amongst Canadian children aged 10-12 years were identified from the 2021 International Food Policy Study Youth Survey. A total of 2,232 Instagram, YouTube and TikTok posts made by these influencers between June 1st 2021 and May 31st 2022 were examined for instances of food marketing. Food products/brands were identified and frequencies were calculated for the number of posts promoting food products/brands, posts promoting products/brands classified as less healthy according to Health Canada's Nutrient Profile Model (2018) and marketing techniques utilized. RESULTS YouTube had the highest average rate of food marketing instances per post, at a rate of 1 food marketing instance every 0.7 posts, while TikTok and Instagram had instances every 10.2 posts and 19.3 posts, respectively. Overall, fast food restaurants was the most promoted food category (21%), followed by regular soft drinks (13%), snacks (11%), candy and chocolate (11%) and water (8%). The most frequently used marketing techniques were appeals to fun/cool (37%), the use of songs or music (28%) and the product being consumed (25%). In terms of healthfulness, 83% of the products/brands (87% of brands and 82% of products) promoted were classified as less healthy. CONCLUSIONS Social media influencers play a substantial role in promoting unhealthy food products to children, primarily fast food items. Given the significant impact of such marketing on children, there is a need for ongoing government-led monitoring, and it is crucial to include social media and influencer marketing in marketing restrictions targeting children in Canada to safeguard this vulnerable demographic.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monique Potvin Kent
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
| | - Mariangela Bagnato
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ashley Amson
- Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Lauren Remedios
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Meghan Pritchard
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Soulene Sabir
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Grace Gillis
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Elise Pauzé
- Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Lana Vanderlee
- School of Nutrition, Centre NUTRISS (Nutrition, Santé, Société), Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Christine White
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| | - David Hammond
- School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Beuckels E, De Jans S. 'My Mom Got Influenced by Yours': The persuasiveness of mom influencers in relation to mothers' food assessments and decisions. Appetite 2022; 178:106269. [PMID: 35963585 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Childhood obesity is a worldwide health problem with a range of short- and long-term health and social consequences; however, the World Health Organization (WHO) argues that this epidemic is preventable and reversible. The biggest dietary gatekeepers of children are their parents and more specifically mothers, whose attitudes and consumption choices are nowadays often affected by the opinions of influencers on social network sites (SNSs). Using two experimental studies, the current paper investigates how mothers' food assessments and decisions for their children are affected by sponsored posts on social media. The first study adopted a two-level between-subjects experiment (N = 81), which showed that mothers like sponsored Instagram posts better when they are posted by a mom influencer (i.e. a mother who accumulated a large following on social media and often engages in sponsored partnerships with brands) compared to a brand. This consequently positively affected source credibility, post engagement, purchase intention and the child appropriateness of the food. In the second experiment, a two-by-two between-subjects design (N = 169) showed that while a typical mom influencer is perceived as less effective in promoting food compared to an expert (i.e. a pediatric nutritionist) mom influencer due to lower credibility, a typical mom influencer is more efficient in promoting unhealthy foods through higher influencer-brand congruence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Beuckels
- Ghent University, Communication Sciences, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Steffi De Jans
- Ghent University, Communication Sciences, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
De Jans S, Hudders L, Naderer B, De Pauw V. Impact of Thin-Ideals in Influencer Posts Promoting Healthy vs. Unhealthy Foods on Tweens' Healthy Food Choice Behavior. Front Psychol 2022; 13:789069. [PMID: 35478748 PMCID: PMC9037281 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.789069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The current study examines how social media influencers can be deployed to promote healthy food choice behavior among tweens. In particular, we investigated whether tweens' healthy food choice behavior can be stimulated by using a thin-ideal influencer in a sponsored influencer post promoting unhealthy vs. healthy food. A two-by-two, between-subjects experimental study (influencer weight: thin-ideal vs. overweight; snack-type: unhealthy vs. healthy) was conducted with 146 tweens (11-13 years old, 73 boys). Results show that tweens' choice for a healthy snack was higher when a (female) overweight influencer promoted an unhealthy snack (compared to a healthy snack). Using a thin-ideal influencer promoting an unhealthy vs. healthy snack did not affect tweens' healthy food choices. While there were no interaction effects of influencer weight and snack type on source effects (influencer credibility, influencer admiration, and trans-parasocial interactions), the results did show that the influencer was perceived as less credible and was admired less when she was overweight vs. when she had a thin-ideal body-type.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Steffi De Jans
- Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Liselot Hudders
- Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Brigitte Naderer
- Department of Media and Communication, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Munich, Germany
| | - Valentina De Pauw
- Department of Communication Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|