Gaston Ares, Florencia Alcaire, Vanessa Gugliucci, Leandro Machín, Carolina de León, Virginia Natero and Tobias Otterbring
The current research aimed to examine the prevalence of Instagram posts featuring ultra-processed products targeted at adolescents in Uruguay and hence investigate the frequency…
Abstract
Purpose
The current research aimed to examine the prevalence of Instagram posts featuring ultra-processed products targeted at adolescents in Uruguay and hence investigate the frequency of such posts among a vulnerable consumer segment in a country that cannot be classified as WEIRD (i.e. Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic).
Design/methodology/approach
The study relied on a cross-sectional content analysis. A total of 2,014 Instagram posts promoting ultraprocessed products or brands commercializing such products, generated by 118 Instagram accounts between August 15th, 2020, and February 15th, 2021, were analyzed. Nine indicators of food marketing targeted at adolescents were selected to identify posts targeted at this age segment. Inductive coding was used to describe the content of the posts. Descriptive statistics and generalized linear models were used to analyze the data.
Findings
In total, 17.6% of the posts were identified as targeted at adolescents. Graphic design and adolescent language were the most prevalent indicators of marketing targeted at adolescents, followed by explicit references to adolescents or young adults and memes. Posts identified as targeted at adolescents mainly promoted snacks and discretionary foods. Differences in the content of posts identified as targeted and not targeted at adolescents were observed.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis was restricted to one social media platform in one country during a limited period of time, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other media platforms, samples and settings.
Social implications
Results stress the need to implement digital food marketing regulations to reduce exposure of adolescents to the deleterious effects of stemming from marketing of unhealthy foods and provide empirical evidence to inform their development.
Originality/value
The study breaks new ground by analyzing the prevalence and exploring the characteristics and content of Instagram posts promoting ultra-processed products to adolescents in an under-researched geographic area of the world.
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Keywords
Marina Padovan, Gaston Ares, Tailane Scapin, Mariana Vieira dos Santos Kraemer, Maria Cecília Cury Chaddad, Ana Carolina Fernandes, Greyce Luci Bernardo, Paula Lazzarin Uggioni, Simone Pettigrew and Rossana Pacheco da Costa Proença
The World Health Organization recommends limiting the intake of free sugars, which can be added to packaged foods and may appear on labels under different terms. The aim of this…
Abstract
Purpose
The World Health Organization recommends limiting the intake of free sugars, which can be added to packaged foods and may appear on labels under different terms. The aim of this research was to analyse the evidence related to the declaration of free sugars from fruits on packaged food labels.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was conducted following the recommendations of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI).
Findings
Ten eligible studies, conducted in seven countries, were included in this review. The percentage of packaged foods in which free sugars were identified ranged from 52.5 to 86.5%. In three studies, terms related to sugars were identified inductively by reading the entire ingredient list, whereas in the other studies sugars were identified by searching for a list of predefined terms. Studies differed in the definition of sugars and the terms used to identify them. Nine studies included fruit sugars within the terms used to identify free sugars. However, they lacked consistency in the types of fruit sugars considered and did not discuss their agreement with the adopted definitions of sugars.
Originality/value
As far as can be ascertained, this is the first review that addresses the declaration of free sugars from fruits on packaged food labels. Overall, there is a scarcity of literature focused on identifying and discussing the range of free sugars from fruits declared on food labels.
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Yukti Sharma and Prakrit Silal
With multiple theoretical traditions, diverse topical landscape and rapid regulatory advancements galvanising the ongoing discourse, the emergent marketing scholarship on healthy…
Abstract
Purpose
With multiple theoretical traditions, diverse topical landscape and rapid regulatory advancements galvanising the ongoing discourse, the emergent marketing scholarship on healthy and unhealthy food and beverages (F&B) has become exhaustive, fragmented and almost non-navigable. Accordingly, this study aims to synthesise and trace two decades of research focused on healthy and unhealthy F&B marketing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of papers published between 2000 and 2020. The data was retrieved from Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, yielding 338 papers for final analysis. Using VOSviewer software and the Biblioshiny package, the authors performed a detailed bibliometric analysis comprising performance analysis and science mapping.
Findings
The study delineated the contribution, theoretical and thematic structure of healthy and unhealthy F&B marketing scholarship. The authors also mapped the evolution trajectory of the thematic structure, which helped us contemplate the research gaps.
Research limitations/implications
By delving deeper into the “who”, “where”, “how”, “what” and “when” of healthy and unhealthy F&B marketing, the study enhances the current understandings and future developments for both theorists and practitioners. However, the selection of literature is confined to peer-reviewed papers available in WoS and Scopus.
Practical implications
The findings delineate the existing scholarship which could guide F&B marketers and policymakers towards designing consumer-centric marketing/policy interventions.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to perform a bibliometric analysis of healthy and unhealthy F&B marketing, likely to provide valuable guidelines for future scholars, policymakers and practitioners.
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Kharla Janinny Medeiros, Giana Zarbato Longo and Giovanna M.R. Fiates
Social expectations of body image can generate negative body feelings, exacerbate compensatory behaviors and discourage healthy food choices. This study examined the food choices…
Abstract
Purpose
Social expectations of body image can generate negative body feelings, exacerbate compensatory behaviors and discourage healthy food choices. This study examined the food choices and perceptions of adult consumers dissatisfied with their body image about food products available in the “healthy foods” section of a Brazilian supermarket.
Design/methodology/approach
Exploratory, descriptive and qualitative study. Body image dissatisfaction was assessed with the self-reported silhouette scale validated for the Brazilian population. Chosen items were classified according with degree of processing. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 26 men and women and transcribed and thematically analyzed.
Findings
Participants chose 81 food products, most of which (53%) were ultra-processed. Thematic analysis revealed that participants were motivated mainly by consumption habits, preference, convenience and brand loyalty. Participants questioned the concept of health promoted by the supermarket and suggested that the kind of food items available in “healthy foods section” may confuse consumers about the healthfulness of packaged processed foods (PF). Despite being critical of the concept of healthfulness promoted by the supermarket, participants predominantly selected ultra-processed foods (UPF) mentioning health-related motivations for their selection, revealing a realm of contradictions. The results indicate that, for individuals dissatisfied with their body image due to overweight and with emotional eating behavior, the environment of the healthy foods section of supermarkets is not conducive to healthy food shopping.
Originality/value
Qualitative approach can bring results which add to the body of evidence on the importance of the food environment's influence on food choices, especially of individuals prone to making poor choices for the sake of improving their perceived body image.