Document Details

Publication Title Obesity and Advertising: Exploring the Conundrum in New Zealand

Author First Name Lynne, Anne de Bruin, Sandy Bulmer, Philip J. Kitchen

Author Last Name Eagle

Origin/Publisher Department of Commerce, Massey University (Auckland), New Zealand

Country Specific New Zealand

Issue Food promotion and childhood obesity

Source of Publication Academic Source

Abstract or Full Text Abstract, Full

Link to Web Site

File Reference EAGLE20032

Document Language English

Industry Sector

Date Published Year: 2003 Month: Day:

Editorial

Abstract This paper reviews the debate on causes and potential solutions to growing obesity, and whether there is a proven correlation with advertising, particularly among children. We first consider this debate from the context of the burgeoning literature on this topic. We then present the findings from an empirical study with parents of primary-age children in New Zealand. However, any kind of proposed relationship between obesity and advertising tends to be as much emotive as evidential, with for-and-against-camps lined up to defend entrenched positions. But, it does seem fair to argue, that while advertising does present a problem in relation to food selection choice, that the problem is exacerbated by many other issues such as: peer pressure, quality of life, in-school food services, nearby retail outlets, and social class criteria. Thus, easy solutions based on insufficient evidence which have failed to substantiate causal effects between advertising [ostensibly] directed at children and nutrition, can be seen as inequitable and thus ineffective in their intended aims. Although here, we consider the problem from a New Zealand perspective, the findings may have implications for research elsewhere in the world.

Click on icon to download attached document:
Attachment Size KBytes: 75 KBytes

Publication Title	Obesity and Advertising: Exploring the Conundrum in New Zealand
Author First Name	Lynne, Anne de Bruin, Sandy Bulmer, Philip J. Kitchen
Author Last Name	Eagle
Origin/Publisher	Department of Commerce, Massey University (Auckland), New Zealand
Country Specific	New Zealand
Issue	Food promotion and childhood obesity
Source of Publication	Academic Source

Abstract or Full Text	Abstract, Full
Link to Web Site
File Reference	EAGLE20032
Document Language	English
Industry Sector
Date Published	Year: 2003 Month: Day:
Editorial
Abstract	This paper reviews the debate on causes and potential solutions to growing obesity, and whether there is a proven correlation with advertising, particularly among children. We first consider this debate from the context of the burgeoning literature on this topic. We then present the findings from an empirical study with parents of primary-age children in New Zealand. However, any kind of proposed relationship between obesity and advertising tends to be as much emotive as evidential, with for-and-against-camps lined up to defend entrenched positions. But, it does seem fair to argue, that while advertising does present a problem in relation to food selection choice, that the problem is exacerbated by many other issues such as: peer pressure, quality of life, in-school food services, nearby retail outlets, and social class criteria. Thus, easy solutions based on insufficient evidence which have failed to substantiate causal effects between advertising [ostensibly] directed at children and nutrition, can be seen as inequitable and thus ineffective in their intended aims. Although here, we consider the problem from a New Zealand perspective, the findings may have implications for research elsewhere in the world.