The effects of food advertising and cognitive load on food choices.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Advertising has been implicated in the declining quality of the American diet, but much of the research has been conducted with children rather than adults. This study tested the effects of televised food advertising on adult food choice.

Methods

Participants (N = 351) were randomized into one of 4 experimental conditions: exposure to food advertising vs. exposure to non-food advertising, and within each of these groups, exposure to a task that was either cognitively demanding or not cognitively demanding. The number of unhealthy snacks chosen was subsequently measured, along with total calories of the snacks chosen.

Results

Those exposed to food advertising chose 28% more unhealthy snacks than those exposed to non-food-advertising (95% CI: 7% - 53%), with

SUBMITTER: Zimmerman FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4021209 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature