Advertising: Food and nonalcoholic beverages

For many people, it is challenging to maintain a healthy weight in an environment that heavily promotes the (over)consumption of palatable yet often unhealthy food and beverages. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on food advertising, and the vast majority is for energy-dense products, high in added fat, sugar, and/or salt. Even though traditional outlets (e.g., television, billboards) remain popular advertising avenues among marketers, the volume of digital advertising and the variety of ways in which it manifests (e.g., via social media, mobile apps, games) have massively increased in recent years. Research has shown clear evidence that exposure to food advertising increases preferences, purchases, and intake of promoted products. Children, in particular, appear to be vulnerable to advertising messages, at least partly due to their poor cognitive skills in recognizing its persuasive intent. Even though older children and adults demonstrate better capabilities in this regard, a diverse array of message strategies and other persuasive tactics salient to them (e.g., nutritional claims, emotional appeals, celebrity endorsement, embedded advertising) are used, meaning they are also highly susceptible to advertising effects. To combat the detrimental influences of food advertising, two general approaches have been proposed: restricting the amount and power of advertising, and reducing its impact. In a world of pervasive food advertising, in which digitalization has recently enabled marketers with a range of new opportunities to even better reach and persuade potential consumers, major regulatory actions are urgently needed to protect consumers in the battle against overweight and obesity.