142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

302805
In-Store Marketing Strategies Are Environmental Risk Factors that Must Be Mitigated

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 8:30 AM - 8:50 AM

Deborah Cohen, MD, MPH , RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
Introduction:A framework that views environmental factors as underlying causes of human behavior and health outcomes was effective in injury prevention and could be equally effective for chronic disease control. Food outlets—restaurants and supermarkets— are deliberately designed to expose people to risk factors for chronic diseases, employing multiple strategies that encourage people to eat too much.  These strategies often use psychological techniques like priming and conditioning to influence people below their awareness. People typically make food choices using non-cognitive processing in less than ½ second and eat automatically, without conscious control or full awareness. 

Approach: A systematic review of marketing strategies in supermarkets and restaurants to identify practices that encourage overeating and consumption of low-nutrient foods was conducted, focusing on practices that are difficult for consumers to identify, avoid or resist.

Results: Several impulse marketing strategies appear to influence choice in ways most people are unaware of. Top strategies include 1) Placement of candy, soda, ships, cookies at cash registers and end aisle displays, 2) Non-standard and excessive portions served in restaurants, 3) Bundling combo meals, so consumers are automatically served soda and fries with entrees, 4) Highlighting “sales” “discounts” and anchoring purchases to specific quantities, 5) Ubiquitous access to low nutrient foods in non-food outlets and in vending machines, 6) Increased store size and product variety.

Discussion: A new approach to obesity requires identifying and mitigating “hidden” risk factors in the food environment.  Policy options including restricting placement of low-nutrient foods at cash registers and end aisle displays, so people have the options to avoid these foods; standardizing portion sizes; and limiting other impulse marketing practices in much the same way alcohol is currently regulated. Policies that require businesses to promote low-nutrient foods in ways to make their selection deliberate, rather than automatic, could support self-control without interfering in individual choice.

Learning Areas:

Administration, management, leadership
Chronic disease management and prevention
Environmental health sciences
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Explain why in-store marketing strategies are risk factors for chronic disease that people cannot easily identify, avoid or resist Explain why people have limited control over what and how much they eat in abundant food environments Identify public health policies that could mitigate the harms associated with food environments in supermarkets and restaurants

Keyword(s): Chronic Disease Prevention, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have 25+ years experience and have published multiple papers in the peer-reviewed literature on this topic. Among my scientific interests has been the reframing of perspectives on the environment and how much it influences individual behavior, especically in ways that individuals are unable to recognize, avoid or easily resist.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.