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The Impact of Marketing and Advertising on Food Behaviours: Evaluating the Evidence for a Causal Relationship

  • Cardiovascular Disease (JHY Wu, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The prevention of overweight in childhood is paramount to long-term heart health. Food marketing predominately promotes unhealthy products which, if over-consumed, will lead to overweight. International health expert calls for further restriction of children’s exposure to food marketing remain relatively unheeded, with a lack of evidence showing a causal link between food marketing and children’s dietary behaviours and obesity an oft-cited reason for this policy inertia. This direct link is difficult to measure and quantify with a multiplicity of determinants contributing to dietary intake and the development of overweight. The Bradford Hill Criteria provide a credible framework by which epidemiological studies may be examined to consider whether a causal interpretation of an observed association is valid. This paper draws upon current evidence that examines the relationship between food marketing, across a range of different media, and children’s food behaviours, and appraises these studies against Bradford Hill’s causality framework.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Early Start Research Institute, School of Health & Society, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Jennifer Norman & Bridget Kelly

  2. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Eleanor Rathbone Building, Bedford Street South, Liverpool, L69 7ZA, UK

    Emma Boyland

  3. School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW, 2522, Australia

    Anne-T McMahon

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  1. Jennifer Norman
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  2. Bridget Kelly
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  4. Anne-T McMahon
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Correspondence to Jennifer Norman.

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Conflict of Interest

Jennifer Norman declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Bridget Kelly declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Emma Boyland declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Anne-T McMahon has received financial support through grants from the Australian Meals on Wheels Association and the University of Wollongong and has received compensation from Pork CRC, Proportion Foods, Flagstaff Fine Foods, and IRT for conducting qualitative research studies, and from Yum! Corporation for service as a consultant in the development of a Nutrition Advisory Board.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This review contains some studies with human subjects performed by Dr Kelly and Dr Boyland. There are no animal studies included in this article.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cardiovascular Disease

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Norman, J., Kelly, B., Boyland, E. et al. The Impact of Marketing and Advertising on Food Behaviours: Evaluating the Evidence for a Causal Relationship. Curr Nutr Rep 5, 139–149 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-016-0166-6

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