Journal
APPETITE
Volume 176, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106128
Keywords
Social media; Digital marketing; Food marketing; Nutrition policy; Adolescence
Categories
Funding
- Comision Sectorial de Investigacion Cientifica (Universidad de la Rep (blica, Uruguay)
- Espacio Interdisciplinario (Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay)
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The research showed that adolescents are highly exposed to digital food marketing, with fast-food restaurants and food-ordering apps being the most commonly seen advertisements. Participants found images, colors, music, oversized portions, product novelty, price promotions, and celebrities most memorable in food advertisements. They acknowledged the impact of ads on product awareness and desire, as well as the mediating factors affecting food choice.
Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to digital food marketing. However, research on adolescents' recall, awareness, and opinions of this type of marketing is still scarce. Accordingly, the present study aimed to conduct an in-depth examination of adolescents' experiences with digital food marketing. A convenience sample of 209 adolescents was recruited at two private educational institutions and a public health facility in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. Semi-structured group interviews were conducted, recorded in audio and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using content analysis based on a deductive-inductive approach. Results showed that participants were highly exposed to digital food marketing, as they all remembered having seen advertisements, with those of fast-food restaurants and food-ordering apps being the most frequently mentioned. According to the adolescents' accounts, images, colors, music, oversized portions, product novelty, price promotions and celebrities were the most memorable aspects of food advertisements. Participants recognized the effect of advertisements on product awareness and wanting, and, to a lesser extent, on actual purchase and consumption behavior. Factors that were thought to mediate the impact of digital marketing on food choice were also identified. In the final part of the interviews, participants proposed strategies to reduce the effect of digital marketing on their food choices, which included both regulatory approaches to reduce exposure to digital marketing of unhealthy foods and behavior change communication. Together, the current findings provide insights for the development of multifaceted strategies to reduce the effects of digital food marketing on the eating habits of adolescents.
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