title: Parent's responses to nutrient claims and sports celebrity endorsements on energy-dense and nutrient-poor foods: an experimental study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess parents' responses to common, potentially misleading strategies for marketing energy-dense and nutrient-poor (EDNP) child-oriented foods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between-subjects online experiment to test whether nutrient claims and sports celebrity endorsements on the front of packs of EDNP products lead parents to prefer and rate these foods more favourably.
  
  
  METHODS
  Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1551 parents of children aged 5-12 years, who were the main household grocery buyers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Inclusion of nutrient claims or sports celebrity endorsements on EDNP products led parents to perceive these products to be more nutritious than if they did not include such promotions. When asked to choose between a pair of different products (EDNP v. healthier), 56 % of parents did not read a nutrition information panel (NIP) before making their choice and this did not differ by promotion condition. These parents were more likely to choose an EDNP product if it included a nutrient claim (OR = 1.83, 95 % CI 1.31, 2.56; P < 0.001) or sports celebrity endorsement (OR = 2.37, 95 % CI 1.70, 3.32; P < 0.001). Sports celebrity endorsements also enhanced parent's perceptions of typical consumers of the product, perceptions of product healthiness and quality, as well as purchase intentions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nutrient claims and sports celebrity endorsements tip consumer preferences towards EDNP products bearing such promotions, especially among the majority who do not read the NIP. As parents largely determine what foods are available to children at home, it is critical that initiatives aimed at reducing the persuasive impact of food marketing include this target group.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Council Victoria, 1 Rathdowne Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: Maree
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scully
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wakefield
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Donovan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D056352:Athletes; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D005515:Food Labeling; D005518:Food Preferences; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009753:Nutritive Value; D010290:Parents; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult