Creating an Environment in Which Young People are Encouraged to Eat a Healthier Diet

1
Creating an Environment in Which Young People are
Encouraged to Eat a Healthier Diet

• Marvin E. GoldbergBard Professor of Marketing
• Penn State University
• Kunter Gunasti
• Ph.D. StudentPenn State University
• International Economic Forum
• of the Americas
• Montreal
• June 6, 2006

2
The problem

• In the U.S., obesity rates for 2-19 year olds
  have tripled since 1963.
• 33.6 are obese or at risk of obesity
• (CDC 2006)
• At current rates, the lifetime risk of type 2
  diabetes is 30 for boys and 40 for
  girls. (IOM 2006)

3
Legislative solution Quebec law eliminating
advertising to children

• Goal
• reduce the level of expenditures on
  non-nutritious foods
• improve the health of Quebec children

4
Assessing the effects of the law

• Number of sugared/childrens cereals in each home
• Study Design
• Francophone Anglophone
• children children

5
Assessing the effects of the law
Childrens Cereals Capn Crunch Honey Nut
Cheerios Sugar Crisp Frosted Flakes Honey
Combs Count Chocula Cocoa Pebbles Frankenberry
Fruity Pebbles Mr. T Pac Man Lucky
Charms Strawberry Shortcake Corn
Pops Cheerios C-3 POs Marshmallow Krispies
6
Average number of sugared/childrens cereals in
each home
Francophone Anglophone Group children
children

• High income/education 1.4 1.3
• Low income/education

7
Average number of sugared/childrens cereals in
each home
Francophone Anglophone Group children
children

• High income/education 1.4 1.3
• Low income/education 1.4 3.6

8
U.S.A. 2006

• Proposed legislative remedies
• Key aspects of young peoples environment
• Parents
• In-school interventions
• Promotion/media influence
• In-store/restaurant influence

9
Proposed legislative remedies potential of
legislative threat

• Labeling guidelines
• Advertising restrictions
• School-based restrictions

10
Labeling

• Restaurants
• Pending federal menu and labeling bill.
• McDonalds nutritional information on wrappers

11
Labeling

• Packaged foods
• Pending federal legislation
• required full-package (real serving)
  information
• to supplement single serving information.
• 100 Calorie portion control packages
• PG Pringles Kraft Chips Ahoy
• Pepsicos green symbol Smart SpotT.

12
Advertising restrictions

• Federal bills restricting childrens advertising
• Voluntary restrictions
• Kraft
• will continue to advertise only a very few
  (healthier) foods to children.
• Channel One Kraft, Kellogg withdraw ads

13
School-based remedies

• Vending Machines
• Sweetened sodas account for 45 of all sales
• Legislative/school district initiatives to
  eliminate vending machines
• Recent agreement to eliminate sugared sodas by
  2009-2010 school year.

14
Parents

• Mothers and grown daughters share brand
  preferences.
• Product Leading Brand
• Soup..76 Campbells..84
• Catsup..65 Heinz..80
• Peanut Butter53 Peter Pan..67
• Mayonnaise51 Miracle Whip59
• Pasta.47 Mueller.63
• Spaghetti sauce..46 Newmans Own...86
• Tuna..41 Bumble Bee..50
• (Moore, Wilkie Lutz 2002)

15
Parents

• Parental obesity is strongly associated with
  youth obesity (Carriere 2003)
• By age 5, childrens food intake is influenced by
  the size of the portion served to them
  (Rolls et al. 2000)
• Weight reduction intervention
• targeting parents of obese children
• vs. targeting the children themselves
  (Golan Crow 2004)

16
In-school interventions

• Changing the food environment through the 4 Ps
  product place promotion price
• Price (in cafeteria) study
• 50 reduction in price of fresh fruit, baby
  carrots, salads (two high schools)
• Sales increases
• Fruit..4X
• Baby carrots..2X
• Saladsno change
• (French et al.1997)

17
In-school interventions

• In-class interventions targeting young people
• Nutritional Education
• Media Literacy

18
In-school interventions

• In-class interventions
• Nutritional education
• Relies on new food pyramid
• non-controversial
• unlikely to change behavior
• (Ellen et al. 1998)

19
(No Transcript)
20
In-school interventions

• In class educational interventions
• necessary but not sufficient.
• Five a day is an overly cognitive approach
• Singing/animating Five a Day is not marketing

21
In-school interventions

• In class interventions media literacy
• Goal teach young people about advertisers
  tactics and motives
• theyll become more vigilant in considering ads.
• Goal demonstrate adolescents loss of freedom of
  choice
• theyll demonstrate reactance/pushback
• Experimental intervention with 6th graders
  alcohol advertising
• Results reduced intentions to drink
  (Goldberg et al. 2006)

22
Promotion food industry advertising to young
people

• 10-12 billion is spent annually by the food
  industry on advertising targeted to children.
• Children watch up to 40,000 commercials per year
• More than 50 of commercials directed to children
  promote less healthy foods and beverages.
• (Institute of Medicine IOM 2005)
• Consequence absence of balance in the media--
  key risk factor (examples from alcohol and
  tobacco).

23
Food Promotions altering the balance

• Tapping into key motives
• (1) Taste or (2) nutrition?
• perceived as inversely related
• nutritious foods are likely to taste bad.
• (3) Fitting in/being accepted by ones peers
• Foods as props/symbols the right food/drink
  (e.g. water) (Solomon 1983)

24
Tapping into key motives

• (4) The desire to grow up
• Theres nothing a 15 year-old would rather be
  than 18.
• Advertising tactic use slightly older models
  (tobacco industry strategy).

25
Tapping into key motives

• (5) Having fun
• Tony the Tiger Ronald McDonald

26
Tapping into key motives

• (5) Having fun
• Tony the Tiger Ronald McDonald
• Zoup-Ah Max on Snacks Gaspergoo Gusto
  cooking shows

27
Tapping into key motives

• (6) Saving time
• Adolescents sleeping in or breakfast?
• Strategy provide convenient, time saving,
  accessible healthy choices

28
Out of home fast food restaurants
convenience stores

• Percent of calories consumed by young people from
  fast foods
• 1970s 2
• 1990s 10 (Guthrie et al. 2002)
• 3 out of 4 teens shop at least once a week at
  convenience stores for an average of 10 minutes
  twice as long as adults

29
Supermarkets efforts to stimulate fruit
vegetable sales

• 1988-91 CA macro-experiment
• 5 a Dayfor Better Health! campaign
• 85 of all CA grocery stores participated
• In-store signage at front of each store
• 2,000 color brochures at front of each store
• Full-page color newspaper ads

30
Supermarkets efforts to stimulate fruit
vegetable sales

• 1988-91 CA macro-experiment
• 5 a Dayfor Better Health! campaign
• 85 of all CA grocery stores participated
• In-store signage at front of each store
• 2,000 color brochures at front of each store
• Full-page color newspaper ads
• Results
• no change in fruit and vegetable consumption
  beyond secular trend a 1.3 increase.
• (Foerster et al. 1995)

31
In sum supermarkets

• Why no change?
• Consumers make choices product by product aisle
  by aisle (not at the front of the store)
• The food and beverage industry spends
• 80 billion annually on in-store advertising and
  promotion--54 of their marketing budget.
  (Thompson 2005)
• Conclusion food industry support is essential
• in providing healthy options aisle by aisle
• in promoting these options

32
Slim Chance in a Fat World (Stunkard 1976)

• A critical role for every institution
• food industry at retail media
• government carrot stick
• family parents child/adolescent
• schools
• medical profession
• Church (gluttony)