Abstract
Food and beverage marketing has been identified as a major driver of obesity yet sports
sponsorship remains common practice and represents millions of dollars in advertising
expenditures. Research shows that food and beverage products associated with sports
(e.g., M&M's with National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing logo) generate positive
feelings, excitement, and a positive self-image among adults and children. Despite
this, self-regulatory pledges made by food companies to limit exposure of unhealthy
products to children have not improved the nutritional quality of foods marketed to
children. We reviewed the literature about sports-related food marketing, including
food and beverage companies' use of sports sponsorships, athlete endorsements, and
sports video games. This review demonstrates that sports sponsorships with food and
beverage companies often promote energy-dense, nutrient-poor products and while many
of these promotions do not explicitly target youth, sports-related marketing affects
food perceptions and preferences among youth. Furthermore, endorsement of unhealthy
products by professional athletes sends mixed messages; although athletes may promote
physical activity, they simultaneously encourage consumption of unhealthy products
that can lead to negative health outcomes. We argue that more athletes and sports
organizations should stop promoting unhealthy foods and beverages and work with health
experts to encourage healthy eating habits among youth.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 27, 2017
Accepted:
June 23,
2017
Received:
January 9,
2017
Footnotes
Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
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