Health-related claims in food supplements endorsements: a content analysis from the perspective of EU regulation

Molina, Clara Muela; Perelló-Oliver, Salvador

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.10.020

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…They found that prohibited health claims were included in 8•5 % of Czech websites, with a prevalent presence of vitamins, minerals and non-herbal ingredients. Likewise, two studies by Perelló and Muela (36,37) are closely related to this research. In the first, they identified misleading claims in advertising of health-related products to quantify the presence of messages offering health benefits in Spain.…”

supporting

confidence: 61%

“…The main result showed that health-related advertisements represent 69•09 % of unlawful claims (36) . In the second study, they analysed the presence of different types of endorsers, some of them prohibited by European Directives and related to H-RC and product content information (37) . This work revealed that celebrities prevail in function and reduction of disease risk claims (25 % and 11•4 %, respectively), while doctors frequently endorse food supplements in radio spots using disease claims (48•1 %).…”

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confidence: 99%

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False and misleading health-related claims in food supplements on Spanish radio: an analysis from a European Regulatory Framework

Molina

Perelló-Oliver

2021

Public Health Nutr.

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Objective: The excessive growth of the food supplements’ industry highlights the need to focus attention on all aspects involved in their proper consumption; one that takes centre stage is advertising. The aim of this research is to analyse the presence of false and misleading claims in food supplements advertising. To this end, a relationship is established between the different types of health-related claims and the substances on which they are based, whether authorised or not by EFSA. Design: This empirical work conducts a content analysis of all radio mentions broadcast throughout 2017 on news/talk radio stations. Setting: Spain. Participants: All radio mentions broadcast on news/talk commercial radio stations in Spain with the highest audience levels. The corpus is composed of 437 advertisements. Results: Results indicate that 80.3% of function claims included in the analysed advertisements are not authorised by EFSA, while 20.4% of disease claims are not allowed by EU regulation. Likewise, almost half of the substances referred to (43.7%) are illicit: 54.1% in function claims, 57.3% in disease claims, and 73.7% in the case of reduction of disease risk claims. Conclusions: This work reveals consistent failures to comply with European regulation on food supplements advertising. The widespread use of unauthorised health claims and substances is aggravated by the indirect recourse of illness as a persuasive argument, descriptions of alleged benefits as product attributes, and the omission of essential information. This leads to dangerous misinformation and can pose serious health risks. Stronger legal mechanisms are needed for effective consumer protection.

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confidence: 61%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

False and misleading health-related claims in food supplements on Spanish radio: an analysis from a European Regulatory Framework

Molina

Perelló-Oliver

2021

Public Health Nutr.

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“…Type of endorser [66] The first author recorded the type of endorser of the main character, if the name or title of the performer was shown in the title or summary field of the video ad (e.g., celebrity, typical consumer, anonymous spokesperson)…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The average number of views per month was calculated (rounded to one decimal place) to remove the effect of the release date 7 Meaning of “fat” in the labeling “Approved labeling content” or “intended functionality” of the products appearing in the video ad from the Consumer Affairs Agency database. The first author inductively classified the meaning of “fat” 8 Type of product Foods for Specified Health Uses (FOSHU) or Foods with Function Claims (FFC) 9 Business name “Applicant’s name” or “Notifier’s name” of the product that mainly appears in the video ad from the Consumer Affairs Agency database 10 Body type of the main character (obese/standard/thin) Body mass index of ≤18.5 was considered thin, BMI of ≥25 was considered obese, and other values were considered standard [ 65 ] 11 Main character gender The first author guessed the main character’s gender as male or female 12 Main character age The first author guessed the main character’s apparent age in 10-year increments (e.g., 20 s, 60 s) 13 Type of endorser [ 66 ] The first author recorded the type of endorser of the main character, if the name or title of the performer was shown in the title or summary field of the video ad (e.g., celebrity, typical consumer, anonymous spokesperson) 14 Presence or absence of food If food or dishes other than the product appeared in the video or non-verbal content, it was coded as (1) 15 Food appearance time ratio Number of seconds in which food appeared as non-verbal images/number of seconds in video (e.g., if food or dishes appeared for 7 s out of a 10-s video, the ratio was 0.7) 16 Presence or absence of depiction of physical activity of ≥3 METs …”

Section: Table A1mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Content Analysis of Video Advertisements for Dietary Supplements in Japan

et al. 2021

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Dietary supplements are widely advertised and the market is expanding worldwide. Research suggests that dietary supplement advertising may lead consumers to make inappropriate health-related decisions, to express behaviors such as overdosing, and to neglect healthy lifestyle behaviors. We conducted a content analysis of video advertisements for dietary supplements and described the content of advertisements with high numbers and frequent views. We analyzed 82 video advertisements on YouTube that promoted fat-reduction effects. We extracted 22 themes and classified them into 10 categories. The categories with the highest numbers of advertisements were “Exemption” (i.e., consuming the product frees the audience from refraining from binge eating) (20 ads, 24.4%) and “Health Concerns” (i.e., the product intake solves the health concerns of the audience) (19 ads, 23.2%). These advertisements may stimulate negative audience attitudes toward appropriate health behaviors. The category with the most frequent views was “Lifestyle” (i.e., adding product intake to a healthy lifestyle) (3,035,298 views). “Lifestyle” advertisements portray physical activity in a positive light and may promote appropriate health behaviors in the audience. We discuss the possible effects of the advertisements on audiences and consider issues for future research and practice.

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“…Aunque estudios previos han analizado las características de las menciones radiofónicas en general (Perelló-Oliver & Muela-Molina, 2017) y la presencia de los diferentes tipos de prescriptores en los anuncios radiofónicos de suplementos dietéticos (Muela-Molina et al, 2021) en el contexto europeo, los estudios en este campo de investigación centrados en la información de productos relacionados con la salud en la publicidad de complementos alimenticios son escasos. Baudischova et al (2018) se han centrado en la calidad de la información de Internet sobre los complementos alimenticios más vendidos en la República Checa, analizando sus sustancias, composición general y la legalidad de las declaraciones de propiedades saludables.…”

Section: Patrocinadores En La Publicidad Radiofónicaunclassified

El papel de las personalidades de radio como prescriptores de complementos alimenticios. Un análisis de las declaraciones de propiedades saludables (H-RCs) en las menciones de radio en España

Perelló-Oliver

Molina

2021

RLCS

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Introducción: Los anunciantes utilizan testimoniales debido a su potencial en términos de persuasión y eficacia del mensaje. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar las declaraciones de propiedades saludables en la publicidad de complementos alimenticios estableciendo la relación entre las personalidades de radio y la información relacionada con la salud. Metodología: Se realizó un análisis de contenido de todas las menciones radiales —con un corpus final de 437— emitidas en 2017 en las tres emisoras de radio generalista con mayor audiencia. Resultados: Predominan los locutores de radio (55%) sobre los colaboradores (45%), siendo las declaraciones funcionales el tipo más prevalente (99,5%), seguido de las declaraciones de enfermedad, prohibidas por ley. Los colaboradores mencionan reclamos no autorizados con mayor frecuencia que los locutores. En relación a la información obligatoria sobre el contenido del producto, el 79% de las menciones no refiere ningún mineral que sustente sus supuestos beneficios. Discusión: Los anunciantes explotan la credibilidad de los líderes de opinión para respaldar los complementos alimenticios. Estas figuras son claramente inadecuadas para recomendar estos productos, ya que pueden implicar un gran riesgo para la salud de los consumidores. El uso significativo e ilícito de estas declaraciones exige una legislación más restrictiva y mecanismos de control más estrictos por parte de las autoridades autorreguladoras. Conclusiones: Si bien los anunciantes son los únicos responsables del anuncio, la responsabilidad debe extenderse a los responsables de los medios y personalidades de la radio, debido a su influencia social, para una mayor protección contra la publicidad ilícita.

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Health-related claims in food supplements endorsements: a content analysis from the perspective of EU regulation

Cited by 7 publications

References 19 publications

False and misleading health-related claims in food supplements on Spanish radio: an analysis from a European Regulatory Framework

False and misleading health-related claims in food supplements on Spanish radio: an analysis from a European Regulatory Framework

A Content Analysis of Video Advertisements for Dietary Supplements in Japan

El papel de las personalidades de radio como prescriptores de complementos alimenticios. Un análisis de las declaraciones de propiedades saludables (H-RCs) en las menciones de radio en España

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