Parents are more likely to feed their children fast-food when exposed to fast-food marketing, according to a study conducted by Kogod School of Business professor Sonya Grier.
Grier conducted the study to address the "research void" in the work being done to tackle obesity problem in the United States, which the Centers for Disease Control designated as an epidemic. Most studies done in this field so far have examined marketing's effect on children, not adults, Grier said.
Adults are often assumed to be the competent consumers and children the gullible ones, but Grier said she realized that children must be understood as part of society.
"If you want to change what children eat, you need to understand that children are part of a family," she said.
Grier conducted the study at eight community health centers in medically underserved areas on the East Coast and Puerto Rico, many of which serve minorities and people living below the poverty line. Survey results showed parents who reported seeing more fast-food marketing and thought that fast-food consumption was a social norm in their community also reported feeding their children fast-food more often.
Marketing is an influential factor in food and lifestyle choices, said Emily Nantt, a freshman in School of Public Affairs. She said her parents' decisions and lifestyles determined her food choices when she lived at home.
"[Now] my food choices are determined by what is being served at TDR," she said.
Grier's study, "Fast Food Marketing and Children's Fast Food Consumption: Exploring Parents' Influences in an Ethnically Diverse Sample," found that many of those living in poverty are minorities and found differences in perceptions of fast-food among ethnic groups.
"People live in different worlds, different marketing contexts, which influence their attitudes, beliefs and habits," Grier said.
Kazuhiro Urakawa, a junior who is studying abroad at AU, said he also recognizes that cultural differences may account for dietary and lifestyle distinctions.
"In Japan, people don't seem to like oily foods as much and don't eat as much fast-food as people in the United States," he said.
Grier said she hopes the study may also be used to promote public policy action and social awareness. It is important to increase research in the area, particularly noting the differences among ethnic groups and diverse consumer populations, she said.
Childhood obesity is a societal problem people need to be aware of because it is leading to a generation riddled with preventative health problems, she said.
The full study is available in the fall 2007 issue of the American Marketing Association's Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.
