Unhealthy food advertising disproportionately targets Black, Hispanic consumers
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Food and beverage companies in the United States disproportionately target Black and Hispanic consumers with advertisements for high-calorie, low-nutrient products, a study found.
Despite companies’ pledges to support communities, “the millions spent on targeted advertising for products like candy, sugary drinks, and snack foods exacerbate the health risks faced by youth of color and presents a significant barrier to improved public health and health equity,” Jennifer L. Harris, PhD, MBA, a senior research adviser at the University of Connecticut’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, said in a press release.
Underrepresented racial and ethnic groups continue to see alarming rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases. According to the CDC, non-Hispanic Black adults (49.9%) had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of obesity from 2017 to 2020, followed by Hispanic adults (45.6%).
CDC data also showed that Hispanic individuals (12.5%) had the highest age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes among adults aged 18 years and older from 2017 to 2018.
For the study, Harris and colleagues examined 19 companies with the highest food and beverage advertisement spending, responsible for 79% of all Spanish-language television advertising and 82% of Black-targeted television advertising. Among the top-spending companies include PepsiCo, Kellogg Co., the Coca-Cola Co. and the Hershey Co..
The researchers found that in 2021, Black youth and adults viewed 9% to 21% more food and beverage television advertisements than white youth and adults.
Savory snacks, candy and gum, cereal and sweet snacks and drinks were all heavily promoted in 2021, representing three-quarters of Black-targeted and Spanish-language television advertisement spending — up from about one-half each in 2017.
“Moreover, there were no highly advertised fruit or vegetable brands in 2021, compared to just one fruit brand in 2017, and there was no advertising for these categories on Spanish-language or Black-targeted TV,” Harris and colleagues wrote.
Declines in advertisement spending were reported in the study, representative of more positive trends in viewing. Overall, total spending on food and beverage television advertisements declined 25% between 2017 and 2021, with a 63% decline in Black-targeted advertisement spending and an 18% decline in Spanish-language advertisement spending. Although there was an overall reduction in advertisement views, this trend declined at a lower rate among Hispanic youth who watched Spanish-language television (38%) compared with children (58%) and teenagers (62%) overall.
Harris and colleagues wrote that any positive changes in advertising mirror declines in television watching and “do not appear to reflect a change in ethnically targeted marketing strategies by food companies.”
While the study did not perform nutritional analyses on products by the examined companies, the researchers noted that prior research has shown the products’ “poor nutritional quality.”
Most of the companies in the report have healthier brands in their portfolios, Harris and colleagues wrote. Therefore, they added, the decision to disproportionately advertise unhealthy products to underrepresented racial and ethnic groups “must be weighed against the resulting costs to communities, especially considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and structural racism that limits access to healthy, affordable and culturally appealing food in many communities.”
“Making healthier choices the easiest, most affordable and most socially acceptable options would advance racial equity and mitigate the harms of structural racism,” they wrote.
References:
- National diabetes statistics report 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf. Accessed Nov. 15, 2022.
- National health and nutrition examination survey 2017–March 2020 prepandemic data files development of files and prevalence estimates for selected health outcomes. https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/106273. Published June 14, 2021. Accessed Nov. 15, 2022.
- New study shows unhealthy food advertising continues to disproportionately target consumers of color. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/971230. Published Nov. 14, 2022. Accessed Nov. 14, 2022.
- Targeted food and beverage advertising to Black and Hispanic consumers: 2022 update. https://uconnruddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2909/2022/11/Rudd-Targeted-Marketing-Report-2022.pdf. Accessed Nov. 14, 2022.
Perspective
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Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, MACP, FAAP, FAHA, FAMWA, FTOS
This study supports what we have known for quite some time. Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately targeted with unhealthy foods and beverages. Companies are aware that they can market to these groups and have a higher likelihood of success than communities that are not in food deserts or swamps.
The clinical implications of this targeted advertising are vast. With the continued climbing rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases that disproportionately affect these communities, we will see these diseases continue to be exacerbated and disparities continue to climb as these practices remain in place. While food and beverages are not the only cause of obesity, we do know that highly processed foods and sugary beverages are a major contributor to this disease process.
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Targeted food and beverage advertising to Black and Hispanic consumers: 2022 update. https://uconnruddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2909/2022/11/Rudd-Targeted-Marketing-Report-2022.pdf. Accessed Nov. 14, 2022.
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