Disparities in Obesity-Related Outdoor Advertising by Neighborhood Income and Race

• Published in: Journal of urban health Vol. 92; no. 5; pp. 835 - 842
• Main Authors: Cassady, Diana L., Liaw, Karen, Miller, Lisa M. Soederberg
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-10-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Advertising; Advertising - economics; Advertising - statistics & numerical data; Epidemiology; Food; Food - economics; Food - statistics & numerical data; Health Informatics; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Income - statistics & numerical data; Marketing; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obesity; Obesity - epidemiology; Obesity - psychology; Pilot Projects; Public Health; Racial Groups - psychology; Racial Groups - statistics & numerical data; Residence Characteristics - statistics & numerical data; Neighborhood Income; Unhealthy Food; Sugary Drink; Food Advertising; Food Choice
• ISSN: 1099-3460; 1468-2869
• DOI: 10.1007/s11524-015-9980-1

Food marketing is a leading driver of the obesity epidemic where each food advertisement serves as a prompt for automatic eating.1,2 An extensive literature on television, radio, print, and Internet ads has examined the ways in which the food industry targets minority audiences.36 However, outdoor advertising found on billboards, bus benches, bus shelters, and storefronts is understudied. One recent paper reported that for every 10 % increase in the number of outdoor advertisements for food or beverages, there was a 1.05 greater odds of an individual in that neighborhood being overweight or obese, after controlling for income, education, and race.