The Impact of Food Advertising on Teenagers
A research proposal
Table of Contents
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................3
,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
1.1 Topic Introduction..................................................................................................................3
1.2 Existent Work.........................................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Question..................................................................................................................4
2. Application of theoretical constructs...............................................................................4
2.1 Independent Variable.............................................................................................................4
2.2 Dependent Variable................................................................................................................5
2.3 Hypotheses.............................................................................................................................5
3. Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................6
3.1 Research Approach and Design...............................................................................................6
3.2 Research Measures & Scales...................................................................................................7
3.3 Data Analysis..........................................................................................................................7
3.4 Design Strengths and Weaknesses..........................................................................................8
3.5 Ethical Considerations............................................................................................................8
4. Appendix........................................................................................................................9
4.1 Experiment Design..................................................................................................................9
4.2 Reference List.........................................................................................................................9
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, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
1. Introduction
1.1 Topic Introduction
Excess weight is a serious global health issue for young and old. The obesity prevalence in
the United States among 12- to 19-year-olds was 20.6% in 2019 according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Although the numbers vary by country (Swinburn et
al., 2004), childhood obesity levels are rising across the planet (Government Office for
Science, 2009).
Obesity has multiple causes in nature, with elements of the home, school and
community environments all contributing to its development (Harper, 2006). Characteristics
of a person’s lifestyle, for example inactivity and unbalanced eating patterns, have also been
identified as common risk factors for obesity (Branscum & Sharma, 2011).
Food marketing, which is seen in almost every environment, is being seen as a
significant environmental factor implicated in food choices, overeating, and ultimately,
obesity (Goris et al., 2010). Each year, the American food industry spends 1.8 billion dollars
for marketing its products to children and adolescents (Federal Trade Commission, 2012). It
has been estimated that American adolescents see almost 2000 advertisements per day
(Powell et al., 2011), this number is almost the same in for European adolescents, namely
around 3000 per day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2006). Yet, the research on the
influence of food advertising on adolescents is lagging behind. In addition, much research on
this topic done so far has been U.S. focused, this paper proposes similar research to be done
in Europe, in particular in the Netherlands.
1.2 Existent Work
The impact of food advertising was originally studied for children 16 and under, which limits
the applicability of the results. An example of a study is the one from Jennifer et al. (2009.
The purpose of that study was to test the hypothesis that seeing food commercials during
television viewing may also contribute to obesity by triggering automatic snacking of
available food. This study consisted of two experiments. In the first experiment children
watched a cartoon that included either food advertising or advertising for other products and
got a snack while watching. In the second experiment, adults watched a television show that
included food advertising that promoted fun products benefits and/or snacking, food
advertisement that promoted nutrition benefits or no food advertisement. Subsequently, the
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A research proposal
Table of Contents
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................3
,Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
1.1 Topic Introduction..................................................................................................................3
1.2 Existent Work.........................................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Question..................................................................................................................4
2. Application of theoretical constructs...............................................................................4
2.1 Independent Variable.............................................................................................................4
2.2 Dependent Variable................................................................................................................5
2.3 Hypotheses.............................................................................................................................5
3. Research Design and Methodology.................................................................................6
3.1 Research Approach and Design...............................................................................................6
3.2 Research Measures & Scales...................................................................................................7
3.3 Data Analysis..........................................................................................................................7
3.4 Design Strengths and Weaknesses..........................................................................................8
3.5 Ethical Considerations............................................................................................................8
4. Appendix........................................................................................................................9
4.1 Experiment Design..................................................................................................................9
4.2 Reference List.........................................................................................................................9
2
, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
1. Introduction
1.1 Topic Introduction
Excess weight is a serious global health issue for young and old. The obesity prevalence in
the United States among 12- to 19-year-olds was 20.6% in 2019 according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Although the numbers vary by country (Swinburn et
al., 2004), childhood obesity levels are rising across the planet (Government Office for
Science, 2009).
Obesity has multiple causes in nature, with elements of the home, school and
community environments all contributing to its development (Harper, 2006). Characteristics
of a person’s lifestyle, for example inactivity and unbalanced eating patterns, have also been
identified as common risk factors for obesity (Branscum & Sharma, 2011).
Food marketing, which is seen in almost every environment, is being seen as a
significant environmental factor implicated in food choices, overeating, and ultimately,
obesity (Goris et al., 2010). Each year, the American food industry spends 1.8 billion dollars
for marketing its products to children and adolescents (Federal Trade Commission, 2012). It
has been estimated that American adolescents see almost 2000 advertisements per day
(Powell et al., 2011), this number is almost the same in for European adolescents, namely
around 3000 per day (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2006). Yet, the research on the
influence of food advertising on adolescents is lagging behind. In addition, much research on
this topic done so far has been U.S. focused, this paper proposes similar research to be done
in Europe, in particular in the Netherlands.
1.2 Existent Work
The impact of food advertising was originally studied for children 16 and under, which limits
the applicability of the results. An example of a study is the one from Jennifer et al. (2009.
The purpose of that study was to test the hypothesis that seeing food commercials during
television viewing may also contribute to obesity by triggering automatic snacking of
available food. This study consisted of two experiments. In the first experiment children
watched a cartoon that included either food advertising or advertising for other products and
got a snack while watching. In the second experiment, adults watched a television show that
included food advertising that promoted fun products benefits and/or snacking, food
advertisement that promoted nutrition benefits or no food advertisement. Subsequently, the
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