Marketing Strategies for Food Products in Parenting Magazines: Health Assertions, Consumer Appeals, and Good Parent Empathy

Background: The public health burden of childhood obesity may be attributable in part to ubiquitous food advertising. Food advertisements are a pervasive influence on consumers' eating behaviors and food choices. Parents may influence the dietary intake of their children by modeling eating behavior and preferences. For young children in particular, they serve as the gatekeepers of food access. Aim: The frequency of different types of marketing strategies used and the relationship of those strategies to the healthfulness of the products advertised were explored. Methods: 487 food advertisements from twelve 2009 issues of each of two parenting magazines (Parents and Parenting) were examined. Three general types of marketing strategies were identified: health assertions (e.g. inclusion of specific nutrients, specific health benefits from consumption), consumer-related appeals (e.g. promotion by famous characters, humor), and good parent appeals (e.g. monitoring, family time, academic performance). Nutritional quality was assessed from food labels using a 5-point system assessing percentages of key nutrients, presence of whole foods, and calories per serving. Results: Consumer-related appeals were the most widely employed (98%), followed by health assertions (76%) and good parent appeals (36%). Health assertions were frequently used to market products with poor nutritional value. Conclusion: Understanding food advertising in parenting magazines will inform interventions targeting wiser food purchasing decisions among parents.