Does food marketing need to make us fat? A review and solutions

Abstract

Food marketing is often singled out as the leading cause of the obesity epidemic. The present review examines current food marketing practices to determine how exactly they may be influencing food intake, and how food marketers could meet their business objectives while helping people eat healthier. Particular attention is paid to the insights provided by recently published studies in the areas of marketing and consumer research, and those insights are integrated with findings from studies in nutrition and related disciplines. The review begins with an examination of the multiple ways in which 1) food pricing strategies and 2) marketing communication (including branding and food claims) bias food consumption. It then describes the effects of newer and less conspicuous marketing actions, focusing on 3) packaging (including the effects of package design and package-based claims) and 4) the eating environment (including the availability, salience, and convenience of food). Throughout, this review underscores the promising opportunities that food manufacturers and retailers have to make profitable “win-win” adjustments to help consumers eat better.

Impact of Perceived Healthiness of Food on Food Choices and Intake

“…Chandon and Wansink illustrated how food marketing could negatively influence food choices and intake [29]. More specifically, interesting findings from Cavanagh and colleagues clearly demonstrate how powerful brands can be [37, 38•].…”

“…As described by Chandon and Wansink, food marketing that includes branding and food claims (in addition to food pricing strategies) can bias food consumption [29].…”

If It's Useful and You Know It, Do You Eat? Preschoolers Refrain from Instrumental Food

“…With increasing rates of obesity (Brownell and Horgen 2004;Chandon and Wansink 2012;Hill and Peters 1998) and childhood obesity (Hedley et al 2004;Troiano and Flegal 1998; though see Ogden et al 2014), understanding how to help children eat healthier is crucial (Birch 1999), especially from a young age (Cunningham, Kramer, and Narayan 2014). Prior research suggested several interventions, including increasing the accessibility of certain food items (Hearn et al, 1998;Just and Wansink 2009;Reicks et al 2012) or using appropriate role models (Birch 1980).…”

Asymmetric demand patterns for products with added nutritional benefits and products without nutritional benefits

“…Our research responds to the recent call to study large-scale consumer 26 transaction data (Griffith and O'Connell, 2009) from sample groups other than those consisting solely of North American undergraduate students (Chandon and Wansink, 2012).…”

“…One important feature of NB products is that only when recognized nutrient ingredient changes have been applied can a nutrition claim be made on food packaging due to severe scrutiny of public policymakers (Chandon and Wansink, 2012). For example, a claim of "low in fat" can only be used on product packaging when the product contains 3 grams or less of fat per 100 grams of solids, or 1.5 grams or less of fat per 100 ml for liquids (European Commission, 2006).…”