Work

Associations between adolescent and young adult External Food Cue Responsiveness (EFCR) and brand recall, product craving and product purchasing in the livestreaming food marketing environment

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: Objective: To evaluate the utility of three validated food responsiveness scales in measuring recall of, and responsiveness to, food marketing exposure on social media. Design: Cross-sectional survey among adolescents and adults who used the social media platform Twitch.tv (Twitch). Responsiveness to food marketing was self-reported as craving or purchasing any brands participants observed on Twitch. Participants completed three validated scales of food responsiveness: the revised 18-question Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), the external eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and the External Food Cue Responsiveness (EFCR) scale. Adjusted linear regression models assessed the predictive ability of each scale on recall and responsiveness outcomes. Setting: Online survey. Participants: Five hundred and sixty-eight Twitch users (90·1 % male, 60·6 % White, 43·7 % aged 18–24, 25·9 % under 18). Results: In separate adjusted linear regression models, scores on the TFEQ were not related to any outcome, while DEBQ scores related to product cravings (OR: 1·10, 95 % CI 1·01, 1·19, P = 0·02). In contrast, scores on the EFCR scale were significantly associated with higher brand recall (incident rate ratio: 1·42, 95 % CI 1·20, 1·68, P < 0·001), product craving (OR: 3·93, 95 % CI 2·22, 7·17, P < 0·001) and purchasing behaviour (OR: 3·97, 95 % CI 1·99, 8·26, P < 0·001). A subset of three EFCR scale items related to influencer marketing were similarly associated with each outcome with greater precision in the point estimates than the overall EFCR. Conclusions: The EFCR scale predicted recall of and responsiveness to food marketing via Twitch, suggesting its utility in monitoring the effects of food marketing on social media.

Source: Public Health Nutrition

DOI: 10.1017/s1368980022001628

Authors: Catherine C Pollack, Jennifer A Emond, Travis D Masterson

Institutions: Dartmouth College, Pennsylvania State University

Language: English

Topic: Eating Disorders and Behaviors

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,255