Do television food advertisements portray advertised foods in a ‘healthy’ food context?

Evaluating the Nutritional Properties of Food: A Scoping Review

There are many methods or indicators used for evaluating the nutritional value of foods; however, it is difficult to accurately reflect the comprehensive nutritional value of a food with a single indicator, and a systematic evaluation system is lacking. In this article, we systematically summarize the common evaluation methods and indicators of the nutritional value of foods. The purpose of this review was to establish an evaluation procedure for nutritional properties of foodstuffs and to help scientists choose more direct and economical evaluation methods according to food types or relevant indicators. The procedure involves the selection of a three-level evaluation method that covers the whole spectrum of a food’s nutritional characteristics. It is applicable to scientific research in the fields of agricultural science, food science, nutrition, and so on.

Trends in marketing foods to children in Slovenian magazines: a content analysis

OBJECTIVE

Food marketing is an important factor influencing children's food preferences. In Slovenia the use of magazines is widespread among children. We investigated food advertising in children's and teens' magazines (CTM) in 2013 and 2017. The penetration of food advertising was compared with magazines targeting the adult population.

DESIGN

A repeated cross-sectional study. Magazines were searched for branded food references (BFR). All BFR were categorised and evaluated using the WHO Europe nutrient profile model.

SETTING

Slovenia.

SUBJECTS

All issues of CTM and a selected sample of issues of adult-targeting magazines and newspapers published in Slovenia in 2013 and 2017.

RESULTS

One hundred and seventy-five issues of CTM (ninety-two in 2013, eighty-three in 2017) and 675 issues of adult-targeted magazines and newspapers were analysed (345 in 2013, 330 in 2017). In 2017, food advertising in CTM dropped notably but the opposite was found for adult-targeted magazines. Regular advertisements dominated in 2017 in CTM, while in 2013, 83 % of BFR types were games/puzzles, competitions and product placements. Chocolate and confectionery were the most advertised in CTM and food supplements in adults' magazines. Most foods in CTM were classed as 'not permitted' in both years (98 % in 2013 and 100 % in 2017).

CONCLUSIONS

The advertisements in CTM still mostly refer to unhealthy foods. The extent of food advertising has dropped considerably since 2013. On the contrary, food advertising in printed media targeting adults has increased, chiefly referring to food supplements and foods that do not pass the WHO Europe nutrient profile model criteria.

Persuading Others to Avoid Persuasion: Inoculation Theory and Resistant Health Attitudes

Inoculation theory, a theory of conferring resistance to persuasive influence, has established efficacy as a messaging strategy in the health domain. In fact, the earliest research on the theory in the 1960s involved health issues to build empirical support for tenets in the inoculation framework. Over the ensuing decades, scholars have further examined the effectiveness of inoculation-based messages at creating robust positive health attitudes. We overview these efforts, highlight the structure of typical inoculation-based health messages, and describe the similarities and differences between this method of counter-persuasion and other preparatory techniques commonly employed by health researchers and practitioners. Finally, we consider contexts in which inoculation-oriented health messages could be most useful, and describe how the health domain could offer a useful scaffold to study conceptual issues of the theory.

A content analysis of food advertising on Turkish television

The aim of this study was to conduct a comprehensive content analysis of Television (TV) food advertising and compare various food advertisements on free-to-air Turkish national TV channels by broadcast time (duration) and frequency over the period of a week (19-25 April 2012). TV food advertisements were the unit of content analysis in this study. Each advertisement identified as promoting a food product was analysed for content; non-food advertisements were not analysed, although they were counted as a proportion of the advertisements aired. We recorded all programmes for 4 h each per day (7 p.m.-11 p.m.), totalling 84 h. Five types of food-related advertisements were identified (basic foods, junk foods, meat products, beverages and fast food), and six types of non-food advertisements. The Student t-test and ANOVA were used to compare the mean broadcast time of all prime time advertising for the two groups. The mean broadcast times for prime time, non-food advertisements showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05). This difference is related to the prime time period 7 p.m.-8 p.m. being considered dinner time for most Turkish families. Additionally, the number and broadcast times of beverage advertisements increased during this time period, while the broadcast time per beverage advertisement decreased (ratio = 20.8 s per ads). As a result, TV food advertising increased not only during dinner time but also in overall broadcast time (per advertisement). These findings may be useful for explaining how advertising can negatively influence food choices, thereby increasing public awareness of the need for health messages targeting obesity.

Food and beverage advertising during children's television programming

BACKGROUND

Increasing prevalence of overweight and obese children in developed countries poses a substantial threat to long-term health. One well-described factor is the amount of time spent watching television, with exposure to food advertising a known influence on food preferences and consumption patterns.

AIMS

Following recent formulation of new rules regarding advertising of food during children's programming, we sought to examine the advertising content in children-specific television broadcasts on Irish television.

METHODS

Advertisement content analysis for 5 weekdays of children-specific television broadcasting from 0700 to 1700 hours on Irish television was performed. Data were coded and transferred to SPSS for analyses. Food and beverage advertisements were coded based on type of product, nutritional content, intended age group and outcome.

RESULTS

322 advertisements were broadcast during the recording period. 31 % (n = 101) of advertisements related to food or beverage products with 66.3 % (n = 68) of food advertisements being for foods that should be eaten in moderation. The most frequently recorded food advertisement was for fast food products (27.3 %, n = 24), followed by sweets/candy (21.6 %, n = 19) and dairy products (17.0 %, n = 15). The most frequently recorded beverage advertisement was for natural orange juices (46.2 %, n = 6). 54.7 % (n = 176) of advertisements were adult specific with 27.3 % (n = 88) being children specific. All food and beverage advertisements were associated with a positive outcome (n = 322).

CONCLUSIONS

These results demonstrate that food and beverages depicted in advertisements during children's programming are predominantly unhealthy foods with high salt and sugar contents. The findings from this study again highlight the ongoing need for new rules regarding food advertising in children's programming.

Underestimating calorie content when healthy foods are present: an averaging effect or a reference-dependent anchoring effect?

OBJECTIVE

Previous studies have shown that estimations of the calorie content of an unhealthy main meal food tend to be lower when the food is shown alongside a healthy item (e.g. fruit or vegetables) than when shown alone. This effect has been called the negative calorie illusion and has been attributed to averaging the unhealthy (vice) and healthy (virtue) foods leading to increased perceived healthiness and reduced calorie estimates. The current study aimed to replicate and extend these findings to test the hypothesized mediating effect of ratings of healthiness of foods on calorie estimates.

METHODS

In three online studies, participants were invited to make calorie estimates of combinations of foods. Healthiness ratings of the food were also assessed.

RESULTS

The first two studies failed to replicate the negative calorie illusion. In a final study, the use of a reference food, closely following a procedure from a previously published study, did elicit a negative calorie illusion. No evidence was found for a mediating role of healthiness estimates.

CONCLUSION

The negative calorie illusion appears to be a function of the contrast between a food being judged and a reference, supporting the hypothesis that the negative calorie illusion arises from the use of a reference-dependent anchoring and adjustment heuristic and not from an 'averaging' effect, as initially proposed. This finding is consistent with existing data on sequential calorie estimates, and highlights a significant impact of the order in which foods are viewed on how foods are evaluated.

Nutritional content of supermarket ready meals and recipes by television chefs in the United Kingdom: cross sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To compare the energy and macronutrient content of main meals created by television chefs with ready meals sold by supermarkets, and to compare both with nutritional guidelines published by the World Health Organization and UK Food Standards Agency.

DESIGN

Cross sectional study.

SETTING

Three supermarkets with the largest share of the grocery market in the United Kingdom, 2010.

SAMPLES

100 main meal recipes from five bestselling cookery books by UK television chefs and 100 own brand ready meals from the three leading UK supermarkets.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Number of meals for which the nutritional content complied with WHO recommendations, and the proportion of nutrients classified as red, amber, or green using the UK FSA's "traffic light" system for labelling food.

RESULTS

No recipe or ready meal fully complied with the WHO recommendations. The ready meals were more likely to comply with the recommended proportions of energy derived from carbohydrate (18% v 6%, P=0.01) and sugars (83% v 81%, P=0.05) and fibre density (56% v 14% P<0.01). The recipes were more likely to comply with the recommended sodium density (36% v 4%, P<0.01), although salt used for seasoning was not assessed. The distributions of traffic light colours under the FSA's food labelling recommendations differed: the modal traffic light was red for the recipes (47%) and green for ready meals (42%). Overall, the recipes contained significantly more energy (2530 kJ v 2067 kJ), protein (37.5 g v 27.9 g), fat (27.1 g v 17.2 g), and saturated fat (9.2 g v 6.8 g; P<0.01 for all) and significantly less fibre (3.3 g v 6.5 g, P<0.01) per portion than the ready meals.

CONCLUSIONS

Neither recipes created by television chefs nor ready meals sold by three of the leading UK supermarkets complied with WHO recommendations. Recipes were less healthy than ready meals, containing significantly more energy, protein, fat, and saturated fat, and less fibre per portion than the ready meals.

Variations in food and drink advertising in UK monthly women's magazines according to season, magazine type and socio-economic profile of readers: a descriptive study of publications over 12 months

BACKGROUND

Overweight and obesity are recognised nationally and internationally as key public health challenges. Food and drink advertising is one of the array of factors that influence both diet and physical activity choices and, hence, body weight and obesity. Little previous work has focused on food and drink advertising in magazines. We studied food and drink advertising in a wide range of popular UK monthly women's magazines published over a full year. We explored differences in the prevalence of food and drink advertising and the type of food and drinks advertised according to season, magazine type and socio-economic profile of readers.

METHODS

All advertisements in all issues of 18 popular UK monthly women's magazines published over 12 months were identified. For each food or drink advertisement, branded food and drinks were noted and categorised into one of seven food groups. All analyses were at the level of the individual advertisement.

RESULTS

A total of 35 053 advertisements were identified; 1380 (3.9%) of these were for food or drink. The most common food group represented was 'food and drinks high in fat and/or sugar' (28.0% of food advertisements), the least common group was 'fruits & vegetables' (2.0% of food advertisements). Advertisements for alcohol accounted for 10.1% of all food advertisements. Food and drink advertisements were most common in summer, general interest magazines, and those with the most affluent readerships. There were some differences in the type of food and drink advertised across season, magazine type and socio-economic profile of readers.

CONCLUSIONS

Food and drink advertisements represented only a small proportion of advertisements in UK women's monthly magazines. Food and drink advertisements in these magazines feature a high proportion of 'less healthy' foods. There were a number of differences across season, magazine type and according to the socio-economic profile of readers in the prevalence of food and drink advertisements. Fewer differences were seen in the type of food and drinks advertised.