Health-Washing of Ultraprocessed Products on Instagram: Prevalence and Strategies in an Emerging Market

To evaluate the prevalence of health-related cues as part of the digital marketing of ultraprocessed foods on Instagram among food companies in Uruguay. Cross-sectional exploratory study. All content posted by 118 Instagram accounts of companies promoting ultraprocessed foods in Uruguay over 6 month...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of nutrition education and behavior 2023-11, Vol.55 (11), p.815-822
Main Authors: Ares, Gastón, Natero, Virginia, Gugliucci, Vanessa, Machín, Leandro, Alcaire, Florencia, de León, Carolina, Otterbring, Tobias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross-Sectional Studies
digital marketing
Feeding Behavior
food environment
food marketing
health-washing
Humans
Marketing
Prevalence
Public Health
regulation
Social Media
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Summary:To evaluate the prevalence of health-related cues as part of the digital marketing of ultraprocessed foods on Instagram among food companies in Uruguay. Cross-sectional exploratory study. All content posted by 118 Instagram accounts of companies promoting ultraprocessed foods in Uruguay over 6 months (from August 2020 to February 2021) was retrieved. The content of 1,893 Instagram posts was coded considering visual and textual cues conveying health-related associations. The number and percentage of posts, including cues within each category and theme, were calculated. More than half of all posts contained at least 1 visual or textual cue conveying health-related associations. Three main themes emerged: i) product composition, ii) healthy lifestyle, and iii) health and health benefits. The prevalence of health-related cues differed dramatically across product categories, ranging from 100% to 1.5%. Health-washing constitutes an integral part of the digital marketing of ultraprocessed foods on Instagram in Uruguay. The inclusion of health-related cues can potentially undermine public health efforts targeted at reducing consumption of these foods. These findings suggest that strict and comprehensive regulations on the digital marketing of such products are needed in policies promoting healthy eating habits globally.
ISSN:1499-4046
1878-2620
DOI:10.1016/j.jneb.2023.09.001