Table 2.
Themes, categories, and their definitions.
| Categories and Themes | Definition | n (%) | Number of Views/Month (%) * | Median Views/Month [Interquartile Range] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exemption | Taking the product frees the audience from refraining from binge eating | 20 (24.4) | 308,408 (5.5) | 276 [189–771] |
| No need to resist the desire for binge eating if the product is consumed | The product removes resistance to and concern about the intake of carbohydrates, fats, etc., and lets the audience freely eat whatever they want | 15 (18.3) | 307,188 (5.5) | |
| No need to resist the desire to eat if the product replaces other foods | If the audience replaces what they want to eat with the product, they don’t have to resist the desire to eat | 5 (6.1) | 1219 (0.0) | |
| Health Concerns | The product intake resolves the health concerns of the audience | 19 (23.2) | 1,576,538(28.1) | 488 [135–48,559] |
| Concerns about visceral fat and body shape | Targeting concerns related to appearance, such as visceral fat (fat in the abdomen) and body shape | 9 (11.0) | 266,674 (4.7) | |
| Concerns about diet and medical test results | Targeting concerns about eating habits and clinical test values (e.g., triglycerides, blood sugar) | 6 (7.3) | 543,847 (9.7) | |
| Concerns about medical checkup results | Targeting concerns about medical checkups | 4 (4.9) | 766,018 (13.6) | |
| Easy Solutions | Suggesting the product is an easy solution to health-related issues | 9 (11.0) | 2039(0.0) | 50 [33–101] |
| Issues about health can be easily solved with the product | Appealing to the ease of solving health-related issues, such as laboratory test values and waist size, using expressions such as “easy” and “simple” | 7 (8.5) | 435 (0.0) | |
| Multiple issues can be solved with one product | Claiming that multiple issues, such as sugar and fat intake, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat, can be solved with a single product | 2 (2.4) | 1604 (0.0) | |
| Lifestyle | Adding product intake to healthy lifestyle | 7 (8.5) | 3,035,298 (54.0) | 605 [454–625,608] |
| Increasing the attractiveness of engaging in physical activity | Recommending physical activity by increasing interest in sports or suggesting easy ways to engage in physical activity | 4 (4.9) | 44,138 (0.8) | |
| Physical activity has a positive impact on life | Describing physical activity in a positive way and suggesting that it will improve life | 2 (2.4) | 2,990,555 (53.2) | |
| Self-management of energy intake and integration of products into daily life can improve health | Suggesting self-management and integrating products into daily life by making audiences think about energy intake | 1 (1.2) | 605 (0.0) | |
| Good Taste | Product tastes good or goes well with meals | 6 (7.3) | 25,647 (0.5) | 1363 [990–2739] |
| Product tastes good | Focusing on the taste and flavor of the product and highlighting its deliciousness | 4 (4.9) | 21,583 (0.4) | |
| Product’s taste goes well with meals | Focusing on the taste and flavor of the product to emphasize that it goes well with meals | 2 (2.4) | 4065 (0.1) | |
| Explanations | Explaining the product’s functionality or usage | 5 (6.1) | 912 (0.0) | 171 [43–242] |
| Explanation of the product’s mechanism and functional ingredients | Explaining how functional ingredients work in the human body using graphs and diagrams | 4 (4.9) | 741 (0.0) | |
| Demonstration of the functionality and effectiveness of the product | Demonstrating the functionality and effectiveness of the product | 1 (1.2) | 171 (0.0) | |
| Impressions | Mostly non-verbal description, little verbal information | 4 (4.9) | 67 (0.0) | 7 [5–19] |
| Description using non-verbal images | Using non-verbal images to show the happiness of those who consume the product | 4 (4.9) | 67 (0.0) | |
| Direction to Online Information | Directing audience to the product website or social networking sites | 4 (4.9) | 2091 (0.0) | 416 [76–862] |
| Direct audience to the product website | Encouraging the audience to search by product name | 3 (3.7) | 1337 (0.0) | |
| Direct audience to social networking sites | Encouraging the audience to post product-related information on other social networking sites | 1 (1.2) | 754 (0.0) | |
| Promotion of Approval | Emphasizing that the product is approved by some public organizations | 2 (2.4) | 822 (0.0) | 411 [281–541] |
| Emphasize that the product is FOSHU or FFC | Emphasizing that the product is FOSHU or FFC, which are approved by the government | 2 (2.4) | 822 (0.0) | |
| Newness | Emphasizing that the food or the ingredient is being reported as a dietary supplement for the first time | 2 (2.4) | 132,420 (2.4) | 66,210 [33,632–98,789] |
| Newness of the product | Claiming that the product is the first food or functional ingredient to be reported as FOSHU or FFC | 2 (2.4) | 132,420 (2.4) | |
| Others | Ads not in the above categories | 4 (4.9) | 535,439 (9.5) | 55,415 [558–188,717] |
| How to use product | Emphasizing that the product should be taken every day | 1 (1.2) | 702 (0.0) | |
| Recommendation to record products and body shape | Suggesting the use of an app or other method to record body shape | 1 (1.2) | 424,482 (7.6) | |
| Taking care of other people’s health | Necessity of taking care of the health of other people, such as family members | 2 (2.4) | 110,256 (2.0) | |
| 82 (100) | 5,619,682 (100) | 332 [104–1298] |
* Sum of number of views/month in each theme or category. FOSHU, Foods for Specified Health Uses; FFC, Foods with Function Claims.