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A values-alignment intervention protects adolescents from the effects of food marketing

Author

Listed:
  • Christopher J. Bryan

    (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

  • David S. Yeager

    (University of Texas at Austin)

  • Cintia P. Hinojosa

    (University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

Abstract

Adolescents are exposed to extensive marketing for junk food, which drives overconsumption by creating positive emotional associations with junk food1–6. Here we counter this influence with an intervention that frames manipulative food marketing as incompatible with important adolescent values, including social justice and autonomy from adult control. In a preregistered, longitudinal, randomized, controlled field experiment, we show that this framing intervention reduces boys’ and girls’ implicit positive associations with junk food marketing and substantially improves boys’ daily dietary choices in the school cafeteria. Both of these effects were sustained for at least three months. These findings suggest that reframing unhealthy dietary choices as incompatible with important values could be a low-cost, scalable solution to producing lasting, internalized change in adolescents’ dietary attitudes and choices.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher J. Bryan & David S. Yeager & Cintia P. Hinojosa, 2019. "A values-alignment intervention protects adolescents from the effects of food marketing," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 3(6), pages 596-603, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nathum:v:3:y:2019:i:6:d:10.1038_s41562-019-0586-6
    DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0586-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Alan C. Logan & Susan H. Berman & Brian M. Berman & Susan L. Prescott, 2021. "Healing Anthropocene Syndrome: Planetary Health Requires Remediation of the Toxic Post-Truth Environment," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, January.
    2. Alan C. Logan & Christopher R. D’Adamo & Susan L. Prescott, 2023. "The Founder: Dispositional Greed, Showbiz, and the Commercial Determinants of Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Edwina Mingay & Melissa Hart & Serene Yoong & Alexis Hure, 2021. "Why We Eat the Way We Do: A Call to Consider Food Culture in Public Health Initiatives," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-10, November.
    4. Dixon, Helen & Scully, Maree & Wakefield, Melanie & Kelly, Bridget & Pettigrew, Simone & Chapman, Kathy & Niederdeppe, Jeff, 2020. "Can counter-advertising protect spectators of elite sport against the influence of unhealthy food and beverage sponsorship? A naturalistic trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    5. Robertson, Deirdre & Andersson, Ylva & Lavin, Ciarán & Lunn, Pete, 2023. "Comparing expert and public perceptions of the obesity epidemic in 3 countries," Papers WP768, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    6. Brian Hughes & Kesa White & Jennifer West & Meili Criezis & Cindy Zhou & Sarah Bartholomew, 2021. "Cultural Variance in Reception and Interpretation of Social Media COVID-19 Disinformation in French-Speaking Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-28, November.
    7. Guilhem Lecouteux, 2020. "Welfare Economics in Large Worlds: Welfare and Public Policies in an Uncertain Environment," GREDEG Working Papers 2020-08, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    8. Grady, Christopher & Iannantuoni, Alice & Winters, Matthew S., 2021. "Influencing the means but not the ends: The role of entertainment-education interventions in development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    9. Brian Hughes & Cynthia Miller-Idriss & Rachael Piltch-Loeb & Beth Goldberg & Kesa White & Meili Criezis & Elena Savoia, 2021. "Development of a Codebook of Online Anti-Vaccination Rhetoric to Manage COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-18, July.
    10. Daria Loginova & Stefan Mann, 2024. "Sweet home or battle of the sexes: who dominates food purchasing decisions?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.

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