Abstract
Objective
Food marketing has been identified as a significant driver of the childhood obesity epidemic. The purpose of the present study was to (i) conduct a content analysis of the types of sports references that appear on supermarket food and beverage products and (ii) assess each product's nutritional and marketing profile.
Design
This was a descriptive study. Every product featuring sports references on the packaging was purchased in two major supermarkets during 2010. A content analysis was conducted and nutritional evaluations were made based on the Nutrient Profile Model, a validated nutrition model. Marketing data were obtained from The Nielsen Company.
Setting
Two major supermarkets in Connecticut, USA.
Subjects
Food and beverage products (n 102) were selected from two supermarkets.
Results
The 102 products (fifty-three foods and forty-nine beverages) had sports references as part of their packaging: 72·5 % featured a character exercising, 42·2 % were endorsed by a professional sports entity and 34·0 % were child-targeted. The median nutrition score for food products was 36 (1 = unhealthiest and 100 = healthiest; scores of ≥63 are considered healthy according to this model). More than two-thirds of beverages (69·4 %) were 100 % sugar-sweetened. Children saw significantly more commercials for these products than adults.
Conclusions
Companies place sports figures on food and beverage products that are child-targeted and unhealthy.
Keywords: Food marketing, Sports, Obesity
Poor diet is a significant public health concern( 1 , 2 ). One factor that contributes to poor diet among children and adolescents is food marketing( 3 , 4 ). Exposure to food advertisements can lead to increased food consumption among young people( 5 – 7 ) and consumers are influenced by advertising and labels on product packaging. For example, health claims on packaging can promote overestimation of a product's healthfulness( 8 ) as well as increased consumption of the product( 9 ). Children think identical foods taste better when a licensed character( 10 ) or the McDonald's logo( 11 ) appears on the packaging.
The food industry has responded to criticism of their marketing practices in several ways, one of which involves emphasizing sports and physical activity( 12 – 14 ). This message appears in various forms of marketing including professional athlete endorsement( 15 , 16 ) and sports organization sponsorships( 17 – 20 ). While the industry's emphasis on physical activity messages could be helpful, the effects may be negative if the companies associate health messages with unhealthy products. In fact, the tobacco industry was criticized for using sports to promote its products, including product placement in child-targeted sports video games( 21 , 22 ) as well as sports sponsorships and athlete endorsements( 23 ).
There is little documentation of the extent and impact of physical activity and sports being used to market food. A recent study indicated that celebrity athlete endorsements led parents to perceive food products as healthier than the same products without celebrity athlete endorsements( 24 ). One report examined the use of sports in food marketing as part of a larger study evaluating the nutritional and marketing profiles of child-targeted cereals( 25 ). One of the sixteen cereal websites promoted its product by focusing on physical activity and another promoted NASCAR, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. Three of the websites encouraged children to exercise.
The current study aimed to: (i) identify the types of sports references used on supermarket food packages; (ii) examine the nutritional quality of these products; and (iii) compare how often children and teens see advertisements for these brands as compared with adults.
Methods
Two researchers visited two supermarkets from two different supermarket chains in two cities in Connecticut, USA, during 2010 to purchase products featuring sports references. All aisles of the supermarket were examined by researchers, and all products with sports references were purchased and coded by researchers. Sports references were defined as any image or text relating to professional sports organizations, professional athletes, professional sports teams, youth sports organizations, people/characters engaging in physical activity, and sports equipment/environments. Packages were analysed using a content analysis codebook that was developed based on the guidelines of Lombard et al.( 26 , 27 ). Ten per cent of the total sample of products was selected at random to be coded to determine inter-coder reliability. Acceptable levels of reliability were Krippendorf's alpha coefficient of 0·70 or higher, or inter-coder agreement levels of 90 % or higher( 27 ). Because all four coders rated the same random 10 % of the total sample to establish reliability, four sets of potential codes were available for those 10 % of products. To ensure that a representative sample of these four sets of codes was integrated into the final data set, codes were randomly selected from these four sets. Thus, 10 % of the final data set was made up of a random selection of codes from the reliability coding and the remaining 90 % of products were divided among four researchers and coded individually.
Nutrition information was evaluated using the Nutrient Profile Model (NPM)( 25 , 28 – 31 ). The NPM score was converted to a Nutrient Profile Index (NPI) where 1 is the worst score and 100 is the best score( 25 ). Scores of ≥63 are considered healthy based on UK standards for child-targeted food advertisements and scores of ≤62 are considered less healthy. Beverages were coded as unhealthy if 100 % of kilojoules came from added sugar.
A data set from The Nielsen Company was used to determine television commercial exposure levels associated with products in the sample( 32 ). Comparisons were made between the number of television commercials seen during 2009 by children aged 2–11 years, teens aged 12–17 years and adults aged 18–49 years. The Nielsen data indicated how many television commercials for one product (e.g. Oreos) were seen by various demographic groups. Specifically, comparisons were made between the number of commercials seen by children, teens and adults on broadcast, cable, syndicated and spot television programmes. Nielsen data quantify television commercial exposure based on gross rating points (GRP), which measure the total audience delivered by a brand's media schedule. GRP represent the percentage of the population that is exposed to each commercial over a given time period across all types of television programmes. In the present study, GRP were used to measure the number of commercials seen by children compared with teenagers as compared with adults. For example, if a brand had 2000 GRP in 2009 for children aged 2–11 years and 1000 GRP for adults aged 18–49 years it is permissible to conclude children saw twice as many commercials for that brand in 2009 as compared with adults. One hundred GRP represents one commercial per individual, meaning if a brand had 2000 GRP for children aged 2–11 years during 2009, each child in that age group saw twenty commercials for that brand that year.
Inter-coder reliability was calculated and the percentages of different forms of advertising techniques were compared. Acceptable levels of reliability were Krippendorf's alpha coefficient of 0·70 or higher, or inter-coder agreement levels of 90 % or higher( 27 ). All variables that were coded by researchers met acceptable levels of reliability except ‘Does the product have a written tip about engaging in physical activity’, so this variable was excluded from analyses. A univariate ANOVA was conducted to determine whether the television commercial exposure rates for these products differed among children, teens and adults. Finally, planned post hoc comparisons were conducted to determine whether children and teens saw more commercials for brands in our sample than adults. All tests were based on a 0·05 significance level.
Results
A total of 154 products were identified in the two supermarkets, but fifty-two of the products appeared in both supermarkets and thus were not coded twice, leaving a total of 102 unique products. Inter-coder reliability was acceptable for nearly all variables. Two variables were unreliable and were excluded from analyses.
Of the 102 unique products assessed, 42·2 % were endorsed by at least one professional athlete, sports organization or sports team. Three-quarters (75·5 %) featured at least one type of sports equipment and 72·5 % featured a person/character exercising. Thirty per cent of products featured promotions, which was defined as either a ‘prize give-away’ or a chance to enter a competition and win a prize. Nine per cent (8·8 %) of products were shaped like sports equipment (e.g. football-shaped Oreos). Finally, 34·0 % of products were child-targeted, meaning the package featured a cartoon character or word synonymous with ‘child’. Table 1 presents a list of the food companies and food categories most often associated with products in the sample, as well as the most-referenced professional athletes, sports organizations and sports teams.
Table 1.
Rankings of companies, professional athletes, sports organizations and sports teams by the number of products with sports references: 102 food and beverage products selected from two supermarkets, Connecticut, USA, 2010
| Number of products with at least one sports reference | |
|---|---|
| Parent company | |
| Kraft Foods | 19 |
| Kellogg Co. | 10 |
| PepsiCo | 9 |
| OBeverages | 8 |
| Clif Bar & Co. | 5 |
| AriZona Tea | 5 |
| General Mills | 5 |
| Coca-Cola | 4 |
| Mars, Inc. | 3 |
| Hood, Inc. | 3 |
| Product category | |
| Beverages | 49 |
| Snacks | 23 |
| Cereal | 13 |
| Dessert | 8 |
| Condiments | 3 |
| Bread | 2 |
| Dairy | 2 |
| Meat | 2 |
| Professional athlete | |
| Arnold Palmer (golf) | 5 |
| Peyton Manning (football) | 4 |
| Kevin Garnett (basketball) | 4 |
| Ryan Newman (NASCAR) | 4 |
| Albert Pujols (baseball) | 3 |
| Kirk Herbstreit (football) | 3 |
| Tony Stewart (NASCAR) | 3 |
| Brian Vickers (NASCAR) | 3 |
| Paul Azinger (golf) | 2 |
| David Ortiz (baseball) | 1 |
| Sports organization | |
| NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) | 4 |
| ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) | 4 |
| MLB (Major League Baseball) | 3 |
| NBA (National Basketball Association) | 2 |
| NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) | 2 |
| Olympics | 2 |
| Little League Baseball (a nationwide youth sports organization) | 2 |
| Pop Warner Football (a nationwide youth sports organization) | 2 |
| NFL (National Football League) | 1 |
| Sports team | |
| Boston Red Sox (MLB) | 3 |
| U Connecticut Huskies (NCAA) | 3 |
| Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) | 1 |
| New York Yankees (MLB) | 1 |
NPI scores for the fifty-three food products ranged from 22 to 72 (mean 56·1, sd 14·67) with a median of 36. Nearly all (88·7 %) did not meet the cut-off for healthy foods, which is a score of ≥63. Of the forty-nine beverages assessed 69·4 % were 100 % sugar-sweetened beverages, meaning all of the kilojoules came from added sugars. Table 2 presents the thirty least healthy products ranked according to NPI score, the presence of child-targeted material on the packaging and the presence of endorsement by a professional athlete or sports organization.
Table 2.
Ranking of products by Nutrient Profile Index (NPI) score, presence of child-targeted material on packaging and sports endorsement: the thirty least healthy products of 102 food and beverage products selected from two supermarkets, Connecticut, USA, 2010
| Product name | NPI* | Child-targeted | Sports endorsement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraft Velveeta Cheese | 22 | ||
| Mars Snickers Minis | 24 | X | |
| Nabisco Football Ritz Crackers | 26 | ||
| PepsiCo Frito-Lay Crunchy Cheetos | 28 | ||
| McKee Sunbelt Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars | 28 | X | X |
| Nabisco Mini Nilla Wafers | 28 | X | |
| McKee Sunbelt Oats and Honey Chewy Granola Bars | 30 | X | X |
| Nabisco Football Oreo | 32 | X | |
| Jolly Time Blast O Butter Ultimate Theatre Style Popcorn | 34 | X | |
| Big Y Ice Cream Bars | 34 | X | |
| Hood Boston Red Sox Ice Cream Cones | 34 | X | |
| Entenmann's Little Bites Blueberry Muffins | 36 | X | |
| Nabisco Nutter Butter Cookies | 36 | X | |
| Nabisco Nutter Butter Crème Patties | 36 | X | |
| Carvel Game Ball Football Ice Cream Cake | 36 | ||
| Keebler Town House Original Crackers | 36 | X | |
| Sunshine Cheez-It White Cheddar Crackers | 38 | X | |
| Hood Boston Red Sox Green Monster Ice Cream | 38 | X | |
| Carvel Snickers Football Ice Cream Cake | 38 | ||
| Gatorade Powder Lemon Lime | 40 | X | |
| Kellogg's Frosted Flakes | 42 | X | X |
| Stop & Shop Frosted Flakes | 42 | ||
| Keebler Town House Flipsides Pretzel Crackers | 42 | X | |
| Big League Chew Bubble Gum Original | 42 | X | |
| Sunshine Cheez-It Original Snack Crackers | 42 | ||
| Arizona Arnold Palmer Iced Tea Lemonade Stix | 44 | X | |
| Kellogg's Apple Jacks | 44 | X | |
| Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers | 46 | X | |
| Clif Kid Organic ZBar Peanut Butter | 46 | X | |
| Clif Kid Organic ZBar Chocolate Brownie | 46 | X |
*NPI is based on a 100-point scale where 1 = unhealthiest and 100 = healthiest, and ≥63 or higher is considered healthy.
The number of commercials viewed by the average child, teen and adult during 2009 differed significantly for products in our sample (F (2,96) = 3·6, P < 0·05). Because the homogeneity of variances assumption was violated, the Welch–Swattherwaite test is reported. Tukey post hoc comparisons indicated that children (mean 11·7 ads/year, 95 % CI 7·0, 16·4) saw significantly more commercials for products in our sample than adults (mean 5·6 ads/year, 95 % CI 3·9, 7·4; P = 0·022; Cohen's d = 0·46). There was no significant difference between the number of commercials seen by teens (mean 8·2 ads/year, 95 % CI 5·8, 10·6) as compared with children (P = 0·268). Additionally, there was no significant difference between the number of commercials seen by teens as compared with adults (P = 0·505). Seventy-seven per cent (n 47) of the fifty-four products with television commercial data available from Nielsen were unhealthy foods or beverages.
Conclusions
Results indicate that sports references are used to market supermarket food products through: (i) professional athlete and sports organization endorsements; (ii) images of characters exercising; (iii) images of sports equipment; and (iv) sports equipment-shaped products. Furthermore, one of every three products in the sample featured a promotion that offered a prize or chance to win a prize. Most of the products evaluated were unhealthy. Children saw significantly more television advertisements for brands in this sample than did teens and adults.
These findings indicate that companies actively target children through the use of sports images on packaging, including portrayals of cartoon characters engaging in physical activity. Companies associated with brands in this sample also target children through television commercials. This is particularly concerning because young children are especially vulnerable to food marketing( 3 , 4 , 33 ). Tactics such as cartoon characters with high appeal to young children are problematic because these children cannot understand the persuasive intent of advertising and view it as just another source of information. Unfortunately, most sports organizations and food companies do not have adequate policies that protect children from food marketing( 34 ). More research is needed to examine how young children's perception, purchase requests and consumption are affected by sports images on supermarket food products.
The current study is limited by the possibility that the researchers missed products with sports references. Furthermore, products were selected from only two supermarkets. Future research should examine how sports references on food and beverages impact young people's food choices and consumption and whether children perceive these products as healthier or more desirable than other products.
These results can be used to guide the development of policies to address the use of sports in food marketing. Policy makers could consider prohibiting sports references from unhealthy products that are child-targeted. Sports organizations could avoid partnering with companies that market unhealthy products. Paediatricians, parents and public health experts should encourage these policy changes to assist in curbing food marketing to children.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by funding from the Rudd Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. M.A.B. originated the study idea and design, helped with data acquisition, completed the analyses, and led the writing. P.J.L. assisted with the study design, helped with data acquisition, assisted in drafting the manuscript, and reviewed drafts of the manuscript. V.S. helped with data acquisition and interpretation of the results, and reviewed drafts of the manuscript. C.A.R., J.L.H. and K.D.B. helped interpret the results and provided critical feedback on drafts of the manuscript. The authors thank Jeremy Steglitz and Whitney Crane for help with data collection.
References
- 1. World Health Organization (2004) Diet and physical activity: a public health priority. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/en/index.html (accessed October 2010).
- 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) US obesity trends 1985–2009. http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html (accessed October 2010).
- 3. Institute of Medicine (2006) Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity? [JM McGinnis, JA Gottman and VI Kraak, editors]. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Google Scholar]
- 4. Harris JL, Pomeranz JL, Lobstein T et al. (2009) A crisis in the marketplace: how food marketing contributes to childhood obesity and what can be done. Annu Rev Public Health 30, 211–225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 5. Halford JCG, Boyland MJ, Hughes G et al. (2007) Beyond-brand effect of television (TV) food advertisement/commercials on caloric intake and food choice of 5–7-year-old children. Appetite 49, 263–267. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6. Halford JCG, Gillespie J, Brown V et al. (2004) Effect of television advertisements for foods on food consumption in children. Appetite 42, 221–225. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7. Harris JL, Bargh JA & Brownell KD (2009) Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior. Health Psychol 28, 404–413. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8. Andrews JC, Netemeyer RG & Burton S (1998) Consumer generalization of nutrient content claims in advertising. J Mark 62, 62–75. [Google Scholar]
- 9. Wansink B & Chandon P (2006) Can ‘low-fat’ nutrition labels lead to obesity? J Mark Res 43, 605–617. [Google Scholar]
- 10. Roberto CA, Baik J, Harris JL et al. (2010) Influence of licensed characters on children's taste and snack preferences. Pediatrics 126, 88–93. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11. Robinson TN, Borzekowski DLG, Matheson DM et al. (2007) The effects of fast food branding on young children's taste preferences. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 161, 792–797. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 12. Brownell KD & Warner KE (2009) The perils of ignoring history: Big Tobacco played dirty and millions died. How similar is Big Food? Milbank Q 87, 259–294. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 13. Koplan JP & Brownell KD (2010) Response of the food and beverage industry to the obesity threat. JAMA 304, 1487–1488. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 14. Kent M (2009) Coke didn't make America fat: Americans need more exercise, not another tax. Wall Street Journal, 7 October; available at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574455464120581696.html
- 15. Brownell KD & Horgen KB (2004) Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies. [Google Scholar]
- 16. Nestle M (2006) Food marketing and childhood obesity – a matter of policy. N Engl J Med 354, 2527–2529. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 17. Fédération Internationale de Football Association (2010) FIFA Official Website. http://www.fifa.com/ (accessed October 2010).
- 18. International Olympic Committee (2010) Olympic Marketing Fact File: 2010 Version. http://www.olympic.org/Documents/IOC_Marketing/IOC_Marketing_Fact_File_2010%20r.pdf (accessed October 2010).
- 19. National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (2010) Official Sponsors: 2010 NASCAR Season. http://www.nascar.com/guides/sponsors/ (accessed October 2010).
- 20. National Collegiate Athletic Association (2010) NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners. http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/corp_relations/corprel/corporate+relationships/corporate+alliances/partners.html (accessed October 2010).
- 21. Blum A (1991) The Marlboro Grand Prix: circumvention of the television ban on tobacco advertising. N Engl J Med 324, 913–917. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 22. Richards JW, Tye JB & Fischer PM (1996) The tobacco industry's code of advertising in the United States: myth and reality. Tob Control 5, 295–311. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 23. Blum A (2005) Tobacco in sport: an endless addiction? Tob Control 14, 1–2. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 24. Dixon H, Scully M, Wakefield M et al. (2011) Parents’ responses to nutrient claims and sports celebrity endorsements on energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods: an experimental study. Public Health Nutr 14, 1071–1079. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 25. Harris JL, Schwartz MB, Brownell KD et al. (2009) Cereal FACTS: Evaluating the nutrition quality and marketing of children's cereals. http://www.cerealfacts.org/media/Cereal_FACTS_Report.pdf (accessed October 2010).
- 26. Lombard M, Snyder-Duch J & Bracken CC (2007) Content analysis in mass communication: assessment and reporting of intercoder reliability. Hum Commun Res 28, 587–604. [Google Scholar]
- 27. Neuendorf K (2002) The Content Analysis Guidebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. [Google Scholar]
- 28. Rayner M, Scarborough P, Boxer A et al. (2005) Nutrient Profiles: Development of Final Model. http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/nutprofr.pdf (accessed October 2010).
- 29. Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (2010) Fast Food FACTS: evaluating fast food nutrition and marketing to youth. http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/FastFoodFACTS_Report.pdf (accessed December 2010).
- 30. Scarborough P, Boxer A, Rayner M et al. (2007) Testing nutrient profile models using data from a survey of nutrition professionals. Public Health Nutr 10, 337–345. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 31. Lobstein T & Davies S (2009) Defining and labeling ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ food. Public Health Nutr 12, 331–340. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 32. The Nielsen Company (2009) Nielsen Monitor Plus AdViews. http://www.nielsenmedia.com (accessed October 2010).
- 33. Kunkel D, Wilcox BL, Cantor J et al. (2004) Psychological Issues in the Increasing Commercialization of Childhood. Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Google Scholar]
- 34. Center for Science in the Public Interest (2010) Report Card on Food-Marketing Policies. http://cspinet.org/new/pdf/marketingreportcard.pdf (accessed October 2010).