Public Health
Systematic literature review of the effects of food and drink advertising on food and drink-related behaviour, attitudes and beliefs in adult populations
S. D. H. Mills,
L. M. Tanner,
J. Adams,
S. D. H. Mills
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Search for more papers by this authorL. M. Tanner
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
J. Adams
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Address for correspondence: Dr J Adams, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK.
E-mail address [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorS. D. H. Mills,
L. M. Tanner,
J. Adams,
S. D. H. Mills
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Search for more papers by this authorL. M. Tanner
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
J. Adams
Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Address for correspondence: Dr J Adams, Institute of Health and Society, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK.
E-mail address [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorSummary
A large body of research confirms that food advertising affects the food preferences and behaviour of children. The impact of food advertising on adults is less clear. We conducted a systematic review exploring the effects of advertising of food and non-alcoholic drinks (referred to as ‘food’ throughout) on food-related behaviour, attitudes and beliefs in adult populations.
We searched seven electronic databases, grey literature sources, and references and citations of included material for experimental studies written in English investigating the effects of commercial food advertising on the food-related behaviours, attitudes and beliefs of adults aged 16 years and over.
Nine studies, rated moderate to poor quality, were included in the review; all were from developed countries and explored the impact of televised food advertising. Overall, the results did not show conclusively whether or not food advertising affects food-related behaviour, attitudes or beliefs in adults, but suggest that the impact varies inconsistently within subgroups, including gender, weight and existing food psychology.
The identification of a small number of relevant studies, none of which were high quality, and with substantial heterogeneity, highlights the need for further research. Future studies investigating longer term outcomes, diverse advertising formats, and in countries with different levels of economic development will be of particular value.
References
- 1 Popkin BM, Gordon-Larsen P. The nutrition transition: worldwide obesity dynamics and their determinants. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2004; 28(Suppl. 3): S2–S9.
- 2 NHS The Information Centre. Health survey for England 2010: trend tables. 2010. [7 August 2012]. URL http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse10trends (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 3 NHS The Information Centre. Statistics on obesity, physical activity and diet: England 2010. 2010. [6 August 2012]. URL http://www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/opad10 (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 4 Butland B, Jebb S, McPherson K, Thomas S, Mardell J. Tackling obesities: future choices – project report. Foresight: Government Office for Science, 2007.
- 5 Advertising Association. Food advertising 2011. [9 October 2012]. URL http://www.adassoc.org.uk/Food (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 6 Adams J, Tyrrell R, Adamson AJ, White M. Effect of restrictions on television food advertising to children on exposure to advertisements for ‘less healthy’ foods: repeat cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE 2012; 7: e31578.
- 7 Ofcom: independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. Communications Market Report. London: Ofcom, 2012.
- 8 Brad Insight Marketing and Media Intelligence. The UK top 100 advertisers 2011: food and confectionary sector overview. 2011. [07/08/12]. URL http://www.bradtop100.co.uk/03-Food-Confectionery/ (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 9 Adams J, White M. Socio-economic and gender differences in nutritional content of foods advertised in popular UK weekly magazines. Eur J Public Health 2009; 19: 144–149.
- 10 Cairns G, Angus K, Hastings G. The extent, nature and effects of food promotion to children: a review of the evidence to December 2008. Institute for Social Marketing, University of Stirling and The Open University, 2009.
- 11 Alexander J, Crompton T, Shrubsole G. Think of Me as Evil? Opening the Ethical Debates in Advertising. WWF-UK and the Public Interest Research Centre: London, 2011.
- 12 Institute of Medicine. Food marketing to children and youth: threat or opportunity? 2005. [0/09/12]. URL http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2005/Food-Marketing-to-Children-and-Youth-Threat-or-Opportunity.aspx (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 13 World Health Organisation. Set of Recommendations on the Marketing of Foods and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children. World Health Organisation: Geneva, 2010.
- 14 Scully M, Dixon H, Wakefield M. Association between commercial television exposure and fast-food consumption among adults. Public Health Nutr 2008; 12: 105–110.
- 15 World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Geneva: World Health Organisation, 2002.
- 16 The Cochrane Collaboration. Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions, version 5.1.0. 2011. [updated 6 August 2012]. URL http://www.cochrane-handbook.org/ (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 17 York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Systematic reviews. CRD's guidance for undertaking reviews in health care. 2009. [updated 6 August 2012]. URL http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/index_guidance.htm (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 18 University of London. Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre. 2009. [6 August 2012]. URL http://eppi.ioe.ac.uk/cms/ (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 19 Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG; The PRISMA Group. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. BMJ 2009; 339: b2535.
- 20 National Institute for Health Research. PROSPERO: international prospective register of systematic reviews. 2012. [6 August 2012]. URL http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 21 Livingstone S, Helsper EJ. Does advertising literacy mediate the effects of advertising to children? J Commun 2006; 56: 560–584.
- 22 Effective Public Health Practice Project. Quality assessment tool for quantitative studies: McMaster University. 1998. [6 August 2012]. URL http://www.nccmt.ca/registry/view/eng/14.html (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 23 Thomas BH, Ciliska D, Dobbins M, Micucci S. A process for systematically reviewing the literature: providing the research evidence for public health nursing interventions. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs 2004; 1: 176–184.
- 24 Effective Public Health Practice Project. Dictionary for the effective public health practice project quality assessment tool for quantitative studies. 1998. [6 August 2012]. URL http://www.nccmt.ca/registry/view/eng/14.html (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 25 Anschutz DJ, Engels RC, van der Zwaluw CS, Van Strien T. Sex differences in young adults' snack food intake after food commercial exposure. Appetite 2011; 56: 255–260.
- 26 Harris JL, Bargh JA, Brownell KD. Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health Psychol 2009; 28: 404–413.
- 27 Koordeman R, Anschutz DJ, van Baaren RB, Engels RC. Exposure to soda commercials affects sugar-sweetened soda consumption in young women. An observational experimental study. Appetite 2010; 54: 619–622.
- 28 van Strien T, Herman CP, Anschutz DJ. The predictive validity of the DEBQ-external eating scale for eating in response to food commercials while watching television. Int J Eat Disord 2012; 45: 257–262.
- 29 Wonderlich-Tierney A. The influence of food related advertisements on food intake among adult men and women. Diss Abstr Int B Sci Eng 2010; 72: 55.
- 30 Messer KD, Kaiser HM, Payne C, Wansink B. Can generic advertising alleviate consumer concerns over food scares? Appl Econ 2011; 43: 1535–1549.
- 31 Riskey DR. How TV advertising works: an industry response. J Mark Res 1997; 34: 292–293.
- 32 Bellisle F, Dalix AM, Airinei G, Hercberg S, Peneau S. Influence of dietary restraint and environmental factors on meal size in normal-weight women. A laboratory study. Appetite 2009; 53: 309–313.
- 33 Falciglia GA, Gussow JD. Television commercials and eating behavior of obese and normal-weight women. J Nutr Educ Behav 1980; 12: 196–199.
- 34 Stunkard AJ, Messick S. The three factor eating questionnaire to measure dietary restraint, disinhibition, and hunger. J Psychosom Res 1985; 29: 71–83.
- 35 Herman CP, Polivy J. External cues in the control of food intake in humans: the sensory-normative distinction. Physiol Behav 2008; 94: 722–728.
- 36 Anschutz DJ, Engels RCME, van Strien T. Side effects of television food commercials on concurrent nonadvertised sweet snack food intakes in young children. Am J Clin Nutr 2009; 89: 1328–1333.
- 37 Murnen SK, Smolak L, Mills JA. Thin, sexy women and strong, muscular men. Sex Roles 2003; 49: 427–437.
- 38 Turner MG, Piquero AR. The stability of self-control. J Crim Justice 2002; 30: 457–471.
- 39 Snoek HM, van Strien T, Janssens JM, Engels RC. Emotional, external, restrained eating and overweight in Dutch adolescents. Scand J Psychol 2007; 48: 23–32.
- 40 van Strien T, Bazelier FG. Perceived parental control of food intake is related to external, restrained and emotional eating in 7-12-year-old boys and girls. Appetite 2007; 49: 618–625.
- 41 Herman CP, Polivy J. Normative influences on food intake. Physiol Behav 2005; 86: 762–772.
- 42 Barnes RD, Tantleff-Dunn S. Food for thought. Examining the relationship between food thought suppression and weight-related outcomes. Eat Behav 2010; 11: 175–179.
- 43 Hollit S, Kemps E, Tiggermann M, Smeets E, Mills JS. Components of attentional bias for food cues among restrained eaters. Appetite 2010; 54: 309–313.
- 44 Nijs IMT, Muris P, Euser AS, Franken IHA. Differences in attention to food and food intake between overweight/obese and normal-weight females under conditions of hunger and satiety. Appetite 2010; 54: 243–254.
- 45 Halford CG, Gillespie J, Brown V, Pontin EE, Dovey TM. Effect of television advertisements for food on food consumption in children. Appetite 2004; 24: 221–225.
- 46 Bellisle F, Dalix AM. Cognitive restraint can be offset by distraction, leading to increased meal intake in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 74: 197–200.
- 47 Nijs IM, Franken IH, Muris P. Enhanced processing of food-related pictures in female external eaters. Appetite 2009; 53: 376–381.
- 48 Jansen A, Nederkoorn C, Roefs A, Bongers P, Teugels T, Havermans R. The proof of the pudding is in the eating: is the DEBQ-external eating scale a valid measure for external eating? Int J Eat Disord 2011; 44: 164–168.
- 49 Green MC, Brock TC. The role of transportation in the pervasiveness of public narratives. J Pers Soc Psychol 2000; 79: 701–721.
- 50 Díaz Ramírez G, Souto-Gallardo MC, Bacardí Gascón M, Jiménez-Cruz A. Effect of food television advertising on the preference and food consumption: systematic review. Nutr Hosp 2011; 26: 1250–1255.
- 51 Halford JC, Boyland EJ, Hughes G, Oliveira LP, Dovey TM. Beyond-brand effect of television (TV) food advertisements/commercials on caloric intake and food choice of 5–7 year old children. Appetite 2007; 49: 263–267.
- 52 Guyatt GH, Sackett DL, Sinclair JC, Hayward R, Cook DJ, Cook RJ. Users' guide to the medical literature. IX. A method for grading health care recommendations. J Am Med Assoc 1995; 274: 1800–1804.
- 53 IMAP Consumer Staples. Food and Beverage Industry Global Report 2010. 2010. [6 August 2012]. URL http://www.imap.com/industries/consumer_staples.cfm (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 54 UK Office for National Statistics. Ageing in the UK. 2012. [7 August 2012]. URL http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/HTMLDocs/dvc5/agemap.html (accessed 20 December 2012).
- 55 Ofcom: independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. New restrictions on the television advertising of food and drink products to children. 2006. [6 August 2012]. URL http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/foodads_new/statement/ (accessed 20 December 2012).
Citing Literature
