Food and drink ads on video game live streaming platforms (VGLSPs) such as Twitch are associated with more aggressive consumption of unhealthy foods high in fat, salt, and sugar (HFSS), such as energy drinks, among 18-year-olds. attitudes, and are associated with purchasing and consumption. According to a new study to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (May 12-15), they are found to be in the following age groups:
This worrying finding has led researchers to call for stronger regulation of the digital marketing of unhealthy foods to young people on these platforms, but there is currently no effective regulation. Efforts to regulate it have also been kept to a minimum.
Although the causes of obesity are complex, junk food marketing is linked to overweight and obesity in young people of all ages. Adolescents (ages 12-18), who are the primary users of digital media, are particularly exposed to its potential benefits and harms.
VGLSP is a growing form of digital media that allows individuals to view streamed video game footage and communicate through live chat. You can access it from your PC, tablet, mobile phone, or game console.
The top VGLSPs worldwide at the time of the study were Twitch (77% market share by time watched), YouTube Gaming (15%), and Facebook Gaming Live (7%). However, Kick, a relatively new platform, replaced Facebook Gaming and placed him in third place. VGLSP usage is rapidly increasing, and by 2023, nearly 30 billion hours of his content will be viewed across the top three platforms. [1].
VGLSPs are popular with young people, which presents an opportunity for food and beverage brands looking to engage with teenagers.
Sponsorship deals with high-profile streamers on Twitch can be worth millions of dollars, and young people, who are attractive to advertisers, are moving away from television and towards these more interactive forms of entertainment. These deals include collaborations with brands and promotion of products such as foods high in fat, salt and sugar. ”
Dr Rebecca Evans, Lead Author, University of Liverpool
To investigate this possibility, Dr. Evans and colleagues at the University of Liverpool investigated the extent and nature of food marketing through VGLSPs and its impact on teenagers' eating behavior.
They first looked at the food displayed in 52 Twitch videos (52 hours of video content) uploaded to the platform between October 2020 and September 2021 by three influencers who were popular with youth. A content analysis was conducted to examine the extent and nature of hints.
Second, exposure to digital game-based (in-game advertising, advergames, etc.) or influencer food marketing (the two main techniques used in VGLSP) and food-related outcomes (attitudes, preferences, purchases) We systematically reviewed the evidence regarding the association between , consumption) young people (under 18 years of age).
They additionally list the top VGLSPs (i.e., Twitch, YouTube Gaming, Facebook Gaming Live) and related food-related results. Participants were asked about their age, gender, ethnicity, VGLSP viewing habits, memories of food marketing in VGLSP, and attitudes toward, preferences, purchases, and consumption of commercial foods.
Finally, researchers conducted a laboratory-based randomized controlled trial to examine the association between HFSS food marketing via simulated Twitch streams and subsequent snack consumption. A total of 91 young people (average age 18, 69% female, 81% white) participated in an experiment in which they watched a simulated Twitch stream containing advertisements (images overlaid on videos featuring brand logos or products). I participated. ) for unhealthy snack brands or non-food brands.
To hide the purpose of the study, participants were told that they would complete a task in which they had to remember what happened at the river. They then had a “snack break” during which they were provided with branded snacks from the river and supermarket branded snacks. They were also asked about their age, gender, ethnicity, and VGLSP viewing habits.
Viewers are exposed to 52 minutes of food advertising every hour
Overall, our analysis shows that food cues on Twitch appear at an average rate of 2.6 per hour, and the average duration of each cue is 20 minutes. Overall, this equated to 52 minutes of exposure per hour (including overlapping exposures from multiple on-screen food cues at the same time). Most of the queues (71%) were related to HFSS foods, with energy drinks being the most popular category at 62%. Most food cues (81%) were branded (e.g., an image superimposed on a video featuring the food brand's logo), but only 2% had an advertising disclosure.
Most food tips were presented as product placement (44%) or looped images (41%), with some features (such as tie-ins, logos, offers, or slogans) to appeal to adolescents. Due to the nature of this ad, it is always on-screen (i.e., viewers cannot “skip” or “close” the ad). See the editor's note in Figure 1 for an example.
Familiarity with junk food advertising influences unhealthy eating habits among adolescents
Researchers also found that digital game-based marketing was associated with more positive attitudes and greater preferences for commercial food and beverage brands, with young people twice as likely to prefer these products. I also discovered. Additionally, influencer and digital game-based marketing was associated with an increase in his HFSS food intake after marketing (approximately 37 additional kcal at a time).
Further analysis showed that recall of HFSS food marketing in VGLSP was associated with more positive attitudes toward the promoted HFSS food categories (e.g., fast food, energy drinks) and, in turn, with the purchase and consumption of commercially available HFSS foods. It turns out that
Nevertheless, in a randomized trial, acute exposure to HFSS food marketing in a simulated Twitch stream was not associated with immediate consumption of unhealthy foods. This may be because participants were only exposed to one type of advertisement of hers (a still image) and this was shown alone (i.e., no other advertisements were present). However, the more time young people spent watching VGLSP each week, the more commercially available snacks they ate, suggesting that habitual exposure was playing a role.
According to Dr. Evans, “Our findings provide important new information about the extent, nature, and impact of HFSS food marketing via VGLSP on young people's eating behavior. Digital marketing of unhealthy foods. “High levels of exposure to can lead to excessive calorie consumption and weight gain.”Digital food marketing regulations include innovative and emerging digital media such as VGLSP, especially among adolescents who are more susceptible to advertising. It is important to do so. ”
The authors acknowledge that some of their findings indicate observational differences rather than evidence of causation and cannot be generalized to all teens. They also point out that some of the findings were based on self-reported surveys of viewing and eating habits, which could lead to recall and bias issues that could have influenced the results. .
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European Obesity Research Association
