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Humphreys L, Morley B, Nuss T, Dixon H, Ambrosini GL, O'Flaherty C, Ledger M, Sartori A, Wakefield M. Evaluation of the population-level impacts of the LiveLighter® obesity prevention campaign from 2012 to 2019 based on serial cross-sectional surveys. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1016. [PMID: 38609966 PMCID: PMC11010377 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18462-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Halting and reversing the upward trend in obesity requires sustained implementation of comprehensive, evidence-based strategies at the population-level. The LiveLighter® program targets adults using a range of public education strategies, including mass media campaigns, to support healthy lifestyle changes to attain or maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of chronic disease. LiveLighter® has been implemented in Western Australia (WA) since 2012 and, to our knowledge, includes the longest running adult-targeted mass media campaign for healthy weight and lifestyle promotion and education globally. This evaluation assessed the impact of LiveLighter® on WA adults' knowledge, intentions and behaviours as they relate to healthy eating and body weight from 2012 to 2019. METHODS LiveLighter® mass media campaigns, which are TV-led and aired statewide, depict genuine, graphic imagery of visceral fat around internal organs to raise awareness about the link between excess body weight and chronic diseases; demonstrate how unhealthy food and drink consumption can contribute to unhealthy weight gain; and recommend healthy alternatives. Cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted at baseline and following each campaign phase with an independent, randomly selected sample of WA adults aged 25 to 49 years (n = 501 to n = 1504 per survey) to assess their knowledge of the link between excess body weight and chronic diseases, and their intentions and behaviours related to healthy eating and weight. Multivariable logistic regression models were undertaken to assess differences in responses between baseline and each post-campaign survey. RESULTS Compared to baseline, there were significant increases in the proportion of respondents reporting knowledge of excess body weight as a risk factor for certain cancers and type 2 diabetes, intentions to eat more fruit and vegetables and drink less sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the next seven days, and the proportion of respondents who reported meeting guidelines for daily vegetable intake. Reported consumption of SSBs significantly decreased. CONCLUSIONS LiveLighter® is associated with improvements in knowledge of the health risks associated with excess body mass, increased vegetable intake and reduced SSB consumption in WA adults. These findings support the use of sustained, well-designed healthy lifestyle promotion and education programs as part of a comprehensive obesity prevention strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Belinda Morley
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Tegan Nuss
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Helen Dixon
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Curtin School of Population Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Gina L Ambrosini
- WA Department of Health, Perth, WA, Australia
- School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | | | - Melissa Ledger
- Cancer Council Western Australia, Subiaco, WA, Australia
| | | | - Melanie Wakefield
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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Parnell SA, Mandzufas J, Howard J, Gannett AT, Trapp GSA. A massive hit that targets kids quite a bit: Where and how Australian school children see energy drinks. Health Promot J Austr 2023; 34:736-741. [PMID: 37218362 DOI: 10.1002/hpja.747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
ISSUES ADDRESSED Energy drinks (EDs) are not recommended for children due to their high caffeine content and adverse health risks. Their popularity among children may be due to children's exposure to ED marketing. This study aimed to identify where children have seen ED marketing and whether they believe ED marketing targets them. METHODS Participant data were drawn from 'AMPED UP: An Energy Drink Study', where 3688 students in grades 7-12 (age 12-17 years) from 25 randomly selected secondary schools in Western Australia were asked if they had ever seen ED advertising on television, posters/signs in shops, online/internet, movies, cars/vehicles, social media, magazines/newspapers, music videos, video games, merchandise and free samples. Participants were also shown three ED advertisements and asked, 'Which age group/s do you think this ad targets?' (12 years or less, 13-17 years, 18-23 years, 24 years or older) and could select multiple age groups for each advertisement. RESULTS On average, participants saw ED advertising on 6.5 (SD = 2.5) of 11 possible marketing channels, including television (seen by 91% of participants), posters/signs in shops (88%), online/internet (82%) and movies (71%). Participants also perceived ED advertisements targeted children (< 18 years). CONCLUSIONS ED marketing has a high reach among Western Australian children. The voluntary ED advertising pledge to not market EDs to children in Australia does not prevent children from seeing or being targeted by ED marketing. SO WHAT?: Stronger regulatory control of ED marketing is needed to better protect children from the appeal and adverse health risks of ED use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie A Parnell
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Joelie Mandzufas
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Justine Howard
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Anna T Gannett
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Gina S A Trapp
- Telethon Kids Institute, Perth Children's Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
- School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
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Boachie MK, Goldstein S, Kruger P, Ng SW, Hofman KJ, Thsehla E. Beverage industry's advertising expenditures and airtimes in South Africa from 2013 to 2019 target children and families. J Public Health Res 2023; 12:22799036231168207. [PMID: 37122639 PMCID: PMC10134126 DOI: 10.1177/22799036231168207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
With the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), countries across the globe are finding ways to reduce the consumption of ultra-processed food and drinks including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). South Africa implemented a health promotion levy (HPL) in April 2018 as one strategy to reduce sugar intake. Such efforts are frequently countered or mitigated by industry action in various ways, including through marketing and advertising strategies. To better understand trends in the extent of advertising, this paper analyses advertising expenditures and exposure of children to SSB advertisements in South Africa. Using Nielsen's monthly data on advertising expenditure before and after the introduction of the HPL, for the period January 2013 to April 2019, the results show that manufacturers spent ZAR 3683 million to advertise their products. Advertising expenditure on carbonated drinks accounted for over 60% (ZAR 2220 million) of the total expenditure on SSBs. The results also show that companies spend less in advertising powdered SSBs (an average of ZAR 0.05 million per month). Based on expenditure patterns, television (TV) was the preferred medium of advertisements, with companies prioritizing what is often considered children's and family viewing time. Urgent mandatory regulations are needed to prevent child-directed marketing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micheal Kofi Boachie
- SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics
and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Micheal Kofi Boachie, SAMRC/Wits Centre for
Health Economics and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health,
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193,
South Africa.
| | - Susan Goldstein
- SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics
and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Petronell Kruger
- SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics
and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Shu Wen Ng
- Department of Nutrition, Gillings
School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC,
USA
| | - Karen J Hofman
- SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics
and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Evelyn Thsehla
- SAMRC/Wits Centre for Health Economics
and Decision Science – PRICELESS SA, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health
Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Haynes A, Bayly M, Dixon H, McAleese A, Martin J, Chen YJM, Wakefield M. Obesity prevention and related public health advertising versus competing commercial advertising expenditure in Australia. Health Promot Int 2022; 37:6827736. [DOI: 10.1093/heapro/daac155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Summary
Mass media campaigns can change attitudes and behaviours to improve population health. However, a key challenge is achieving share of voice in a complex and cluttered media environment. The aim of this study was to compare advertising expenditure on public health campaigns for obesity prevention (and related healthy eating and physical activity campaigns) with competing commercial categories of (a) sugary drinks, (b) artificially sweetened drinks and (c) diet/weight loss products and programmes. These commercial products may either undermine or dilute public health messages by directly contributing to poor health or confusing the public about the best ways to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Monthly estimates of advertising expenditure in Australian media (television, outdoor, cinema, radio, newspapers, magazines and digital) were obtained from Nielsen Media for 2016–18. Eligible public health advertising expenditure for the entire period (total AUD$27M) was vastly outweighed by the commercial categories of sugary drinks (AUD$129M) and diet/weight loss products and services (AUD$122M). Artificially sweetened drinks accounted for an additional AUD$23M of expenditure. These results highlight the need to rebalance the ratio of advertising to support public health in Australia through increased funding for obesity prevention and related campaigns, and critically, through government regulation to limit competing commercial advertising.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Haynes
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria , 615 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 , Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia
| | - Megan Bayly
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria , 615 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 , Australia
| | - Helen Dixon
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria , 615 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 , Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia
| | - Alison McAleese
- Prevention Division, Cancer Council Victoria , Melbourne, VIC , Australia
| | - Jane Martin
- Obesity Policy Coalition, Cancer Council Victoria , Melbourne, VIC , Australia
| | - Yan Jun Michelle Chen
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria , 615 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 , Australia
| | - Melanie Wakefield
- Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria , 615 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne, VIC 3004 , Australia
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne , Parkville, VIC , Australia
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Potvin Kent M, Pauzé E, Bagnato M, Guimarães JS, Pinto A, Remedios L, Pritchard M, L’Abbé MR, Mulligan C, Vergeer L, Weippert M. Food and beverage advertising expenditures in Canada in 2016 and 2019 across media. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:1458. [PMID: 35915428 PMCID: PMC9340686 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13823-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Food and beverage advertising has been identified as a powerful determinant of dietary intake and weight. Available evidence suggests that the preponderance of food and beverage advertising expenditures are devoted to the promotion of unhealthy products. The purpose of this study is to estimate food advertising expenditures in Canada in 2019 overall, by media and by food category, determine how much was spent on promoting healthier versus less healthy products and assess whether changes in these expenditures occurred between 2016 and 2019.
Methods
Estimates of net advertising expenditures for 57 selected food categories promoted on television, radio, out-of-home media, print media and popular websites, were licensed from Numerator. The nutrient content of promoted products or brands were collected, and related expenditures were then categorized as “healthy” or “unhealthy” according to a Nutrient Profile Model (NPM) proposed by Health Canada. Expenditures were described using frequencies and relative frequencies and percent changes in expenditures between 2016 and 2019 were computed.
Results
An estimated $628.6 million was spent on examined food and beverage advertising in Canada in 2019, with television accounting for 67.7%, followed by digital media (11.8%). In 2019, most spending (55.7%) was devoted to restaurants, followed by dairy and alternatives (11%), and $492.9 million (87.2% of classified spending) was spent advertising products and brands classified as “unhealthy”. Fruit and vegetables and water accounted for only 2.1 and 0.8% of expenditures, respectively, in 2019. In 2019 compared to 2016, advertising expenditures decreased by 14.1% across all media (excluding digital media), with the largest decreases noted for print media (− 63.0%) and television (− 14.6%). Overall, expenditures increased the most in relative terms for fruit and vegetables (+ 19.5%) and miscellaneous products (+ 5%), while decreasing the most for water (− 55.6%) and beverages (− 47.5%).
Conclusions
Despite a slight drop in national food and beverage advertising spending between 2016 and 2019, examined expenditures remain high, and most products or brands being advertised are unhealthy. Expenditures across all media should continue to be monitored to assess Canada’s nutrition environment and track changes in food advertising over time.
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Dixon H, Scully M, Morley B, Wakefield M. Can point-of-sale nutrition information encourage reduced preference for sugary drinks among adolescents? Public Health Nutr 2021; 24:4023-34. [PMID: 34018479 DOI: 10.1017/S1368980021002275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To test whether point-of-sale (POS) information about the nutrition content of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) promotes healthier drink choices among teenagers, and explore whether POS intervention effects vary based on prior exposure to a sugary drink public health campaign (13 Cancers). DESIGN Between-subjects online experiment with three POS signage conditions: no signage (control); sugar content (SC) and Health Star Rating (HSR). Participants viewed their assigned POS sign alone, then alongside a drinks product display and chose which drink they would buy. Perceptions of various drink products and campaign recall were assessed. SETTING Australia. PARTICIPANTS Adolescents aged 13-17 years (n 925) recruited via an online panel. RESULTS POS signs did not promote a significant reduction in preference for SSB (cf. control condition). Cognitive and emotional responses to POS signs were strongest for the SC sign, which was rated higher than the HSR sign on various perceived effectiveness measures. Participants who saw the SC sign rated SSB as less healthy (cf. control condition) and were more likely to accurately estimate the number of teaspoons of sugar in soft drink (cf. HSR sign and control conditions). There was no significant interaction between prior exposure to the 13 Cancers campaign and POS signage condition regarding preferences for and perceptions of SSB. CONCLUSIONS SSB POS interventions may not have the desired effect on adolescents' drink preferences. Testing SSB POS signs in real-world retail settings is needed to determine whether positive educational impacts extend to promoting healthier drink purchases and reduced SSB consumption among teenagers.
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