Observations of food marketing directed to youth in Central Illinois

Background. Most research examining food marketing and advertising to children has focused on the television in the home, with limited attention to the broader nutrition environment in which families are embedded. In this presentation, we describe food marketing targeted to young children in the retail food store environment in Central Illinois, and compare strategies by neighborhood (census block) socioeconomic position.

Methods.

An audit tool was developed to assess methods of promotion (e.g. cartoon characters) directed to children in the food retail environment. Trained graduate students documented food marketing strategies for 72 snack foods (e.g., oreo cookies), breakfast cereals, prepared foods (e.g., lunchables), juices and other drinks (e.g., Nesquick) at grocery and convenience stores. A total of 64 stores were visited.

Results. Preliminary findings indicate that 98% of the items assessed used promotional strategies directed to youth. The use of cartoon characters (35%) was the most commonly used strategy, followed by giveaways (26%). Breakfast cereals (100%) were the most likely to use cartoon characters.

Conclusion. The results suggest that marketing strategies in the food retail environment may influence purchasing behaviors of families with young children.