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Promoting
The dark side of advertising: unhealthy food
promoting unhealthy consumption

food consumption
Bilwa Deshpande
Department of Media and Journalism, FLAME University, Pune, India
Received 30 August 2021
Puneet Kaur Revised 10 June 2022
1 November 2022
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway and Accepted 2 December 2022
Optentia Research Focus Area, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Alberto Ferraris
Department of Management, University of Torino, Torino, Italy and Laboratory
for International and Regional Economics, Graduate School of Economics and
Management, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation
Dorra Yahiaoui
Head of Management Department, Kedge Business School, Talence, France, and
Amandeep Dhir
Department of Management, School of Business and Law, University of Agder,
Kristiansand, Norway; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, India and
Optentia Research Focus Area, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Abstract
Purpose – Scholars have noted the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption. However,
a systematic literature review (SLR) on this topic is currently lacking. This study aims to find, analyze
and synthesize prior literature to set the stage for future researchers and practitioners. It also
uncovers research gaps, suggests potential research questions and presents a conceptual framework
for use in future research.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper catalogs and synthesizes topic-related literature by using
the time-tested SLR methodology. It identifies and analyzes 99 relevant studies that have addressed the
impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption. Research profiling of the selected studies supported the
synthesis of key themes in the extant literature.
Findings – The authors identify three key thematic foci: a) viewer attributes pertaining to excessive
unhealthy food consumption, b) advertisement attributes pertaining to excessive unhealthy food consumption
and, c) unhealthy food consumption regulation. Within these themes, the authors also identify some
subthemes, presenting specific advertising and viewer attributes that contribute to unhealthy food
consumption. The authors further develop a conceptual framework based on the stimulus-organism-response
(S-O-R) model, summarizing the findings of the study. This could aid future researchers and practitioners in
their design of certain strategies.
Research limitations/implications – The study uncovers various gaps in the extant literature and
suggests potential areas that can be examined by scholars. From a practical perspective, the study

European Journal of Marketing

The paper is an output of the project NFP313011BWN6 “The implementation framework and © Emerald Publishing Limited
0309-0566
business model of the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and smart transport”. DOI 10.1108/EJM-08-2021-0659
EJM recommends certain actionable strategies for policymakers, helping customers to achieve the long-term goal
of obesity reduction.
Practical implications – From the perspective of practice, the study recommends certain actionable
strategies for policymakers helping customers achieve the long-term goal of obesity reduction.
Originality/value – The current study makes a novel contribution to the research on advertising and
unhealthy food consumption by identifying theme-based research gaps in the existing literature, mapping
those with potential research questions and presenting a conceptual framework based on the S-O-R model.
Based on the findings, the study also proposes five potential research models examining diverse aspects of
advertising and unhealthy food consumption to guide interested scholars and practitioners to shape the future
research discourse.
Keywords Advertising regulation, Systematic literature review (SLR), Unhealthy food advertising,
Unhealthy food consumption
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
The enormous increase in unhealthy food consumption has become one of the major
concerns worldwide (Kawa et al., 2022). Unhealthy food can be defined as food that is
high in calories and rich in fat (Oakes, 2005). Hartmann et al. (2013) defined unhealthy
food as food with low nutritional value and high-fat content. As the consumption of
unhealthy food leads to obesity, the advertising of such items has become a major
concern for governments, policymakers and consumers (Dixon et al., 2020a). Excessive
consumption of unhealthy food and beverages is one of the major contributing factors to
the increased prevalence of obesity (Crovetto et al., 2018; Werle et al., 2013). Obesity, in
turn, is a major global concern (Agaronnik et al., 2021) defined as the abnormal or
excessive accumulation of fat, presenting a risk to health (Kopelman, 2000). For instance,
obesity can give rise to both physiological (e.g. diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases,
etc.) and psychological health problems (e.g. anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, etc.)
(Connors et al., 2021), with obese people having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater
(Ogden et al., 2007).
Past evidence shows that advertising is one of the most important triggers for unhealthy
food consumption (Russell et al., 2019). For example, Liu et al. (2020) argued that, when
widely exposed to advertising in public outdoor spaces, children in New Zealand are more
likely to consume unhealthy food. Similarly, Effertz et al. (2019) and Rusmevichientong et al.
(2014) reported that the advertisement of unhealthy food has a strong positive relationship
with unhealthy food consumption among children. Guariguata et al. (2020) also suggested
that aggressive unhealthy food advertising is one of the key drivers of unhealthy food
consumption in the Caribbean.
Due to growing concerns regarding the adverse effects of food advertising on food
consumption practices, scholars have started examining the impact of specific
advertisement attributes on the consumption of unhealthy food (which ultimately results in
obesity). Dixon et al. (2014a) suggested that the presence of sports celebrities in unhealthy
food advertisements increases unhealthy food consumption. Later, Jiao and Chang (2020)
performed a content analysis of all the televised advertisements in China from 2016 to 2019
and noted that older people were more likely to appear in unhealthy food advertisements.
Dowling et al. (2020) also followed a content analysis approach to analyze outdoor, street-
level advertisements featuring sugary drinks in New York City and their findings suggested
a strong positive association between the density of advertisements and unhealthy food
consumption. Earlier, using the content analysis technique, Tan et al. (2018) analyzed the
impact of YouTube’s unhealthy food advertisements on unhealthy food consumption
among children in Malaysia. The most common persuasive marketing techniques identified Promoting
in these advertisements had been taste appeal, fun appeal, the use of promotional characters, unhealthy food
uniqueness and the use of animation. The authors concluded that unhealthy food
advertisements were responsible for excessive unhealthy food consumption among
consumption
Malaysian children. Similarly, Dia et al. (2021) reviewed outdoor advertisements near
schools in Uganda and concluded that most of the advertisements promoted unhealthy food
products, indicating an urgent need for food marketing policy regulations.
Other related empirical studies have examined correlations between food advertisements
and unhealthy food consumption. For instance, Nigg (2013) suggested that health-related
impairments of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are related to unhealthy
food consumption, and Hershko et al. (2021) found that, when they are exposed to unhealthy
food advertisements, individuals with ADHD consume more unhealthy food compared to
those without ADHD.
Even though several studies have examined the various advertisement attributes
responsible for unhealthy food consumption, there is a dearth of research assimilating all
these available findings. With the latter being scattered across varied journals and contexts,
it is difficult to grasp the full picture. Indeed, the existing literature in this domain does not
provide a clear picture of the different attributes that affect (positively or negatively) the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption. Before creating a
platform for future research to build upon, it is necessary to obtain more clarity on the
existing literature in this domain-something that could be achieved by consolidating the
existing data. Scholars suggest that a systematic literature review (SLR) could help
assimilate and analyze the extant work in a discipline, allowing researchers to build a
research framework that can further guide scholars and practitioners (Denyer and Tranfield,
2009).
The current study aims to address relevant research gaps by conducting an SLR study
on prior literature examining “the dark side” of food advertising, i.e. the influential role of
food advertisements in promoting the consumption of unhealthy food, which increases the
likelihood of obesity and related health problems. Many scholars have used the “dark side of
advertising” phrase in the context of advertising on the internet (Mansfield-Devine, 2015),
cyber-security (Mansfield-Devine, 2014) and multiplatform advertising (Yeboah-Banin and
Amoakohene, 2019). To manage the serious and growing implications related to the dark
side of unhealthy food advertising, scholars have suggested an urgent need for advertising
policy regulations (Dia et al., 2021; Kent and Pauze, 2018; Vilaro et al., 2017). Although
previous research in the context of unhealthy food suggested various solutions to the dark
side of advertising issues, the literature is quite scattered. As such, there is a need to
assimilate relevant findings in the form of an SLR study, and the current study set out to
address this gap.
Prior literature discussed various advertising (e.g. exposure, frequency and source) and
viewer attributes (e.g. advertising literacy, habits and personality traits of the individual
who watches the advertisement) in the context of food advertising and unhealthy food
consumption. Specifically, prior literature focused on identifying the factors that either
enhance or mitigate the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption.
Consequently, we set out to assimilate relevant research findings and clarify the picture
surrounding these factors. Thus, the research objective of the current study is to conduct a
state-of-the-art SLR, examining the impact of food advertising on the consumption of
unhealthy food. To fulfill this research objective, the study followed a previously proposed
rigorous review protocol (Dhir et al., 2020). The current SLR thus assimilates findings from
existing studies, identifying key themes and sub-themes as well as presenting a research
EJM framework that maps future research questions alongside the research gaps uncovered
during this study:
The key outcomes of this study are as follows:
(1) an in-depth overview of the research profile of the existing studies;
(2) uncovering three key thematic areas of research, namely,

viewer attributes (e.g. advertising literacy, demographics, education, habits,
personality traits and self-health condition);

advertisement attributes pertaining to excessive unhealthy food consumption
(e.g. advertisement exposure, frequency and medium, product or brand
attributes and source attributes); and

regulations related to unhealthy food consumption (e.g. counter-advertising,
protective advertising and the role of policy and governance).
(3) outlining key research gaps and possible avenues for future research;
(4) constructing a framework that explains the impact of advertising on the
consumption of unhealthy food; and
(5) propose five potential research models examining diverse aspects of advertising and
unhealthy food consumption, which can be tested by future research.
The rest of the article is structured as follows: Section 2 explains the scope and boundary of this
review, while Section 3 provides an overview of the SLR method used. The thematic foci are
identified in Section 4, and a conceptual framework is presented in Section 5. Relevant research
gaps and potential research models are discussed in Section 6, followed by conclusions,
theoretical as well as managerial implications and limitations in Section 7.

2. Scope and boundary of the review

Unhealthy food consumption is consumer behavior in which individuals consume foods
with high fat and sugar content that is detrimental to their health (Jia et al., 2019). Oakes
(2005) suggested that highly caloric foods that are rich in fat be considered unhealthy foods.
Werle et al. (2013) later argued that there is a substantial overlap between these two
concepts and that unhealthy food can be either highly caloric or fatty foods. Sproesser et al.
(2015) also defined unhealthy food as highly caloric foods with fewer fruits and vegetables.
Lobstein and Davies (2009) discussed three well-developed approaches for defining
“healthy” and “unhealthy” foods. They also synthesized and summarized key nutritional
dimensions (i.e. sugar, fat and salt) in an easily understandable manner that can be applied
across a variety of products.
The first approach, the “Swedish Keyhole mark,” was introduced during the 1980s in
northern Sweden. When this mark appears on a food package, it guarantees that the product
has a reduced amount of total fat, saturated and trans fatty acids, salt (sodium) and/or a high
amount of fiber. This was mostly calculated on a “per 100 g” basis. The keyhole mark was
thus relative (i.e. not an absolute scheme).
The second approach, the “front-of-pack traffic light labeling scheme.” In this scheme,
two sets of thresholds were set for a “red” category:
(1) if a product’s nutrient content “per 100 g of product” exceeds 20 g fat, 5 g saturated
fat, 12.5 g added sugars or 1.5 g salt, the product would be classified as “red” or;
(2) if a product’s nutrient content “per portion” exceeds 21 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 15 g
added sugars or 2.4 g salt, the product would be classified as “red” (regardless of
the “per 100 g” value).
The third approach, the “nutrient-profiling model.” The model provides a single score for any Promoting
food product based on calculating the number of points for “negative” nutrients that can be unhealthy food
offset “positive” nutrients. These points are allocated based on the nutritional content of 100 g
of food. Specifically, total “negative” points are calculated based on energy content, saturated
consumption
fat, sodium content and total sugar, while total “positive” points are calculated based on fruit,
fiber, nuts, protein and vegetable contents. Finally, the overall nutrition score of a food item is
calculated by offsetting its negative points with its positive points, classifying it as “less
healthy” when it scores 4 points or more (i.e. negative points  positive points  4).
Overall, past literature defined unhealthy food in terms of calorie content, fat content,
fiber content, fish and wholegrain cereal content, lean meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts
content, protein content, salt content and sugar content. Furthermore, as past literature
assigned either positive or negative points to different food contents (Lobstein and Davies,
2009), this review followed the same approach and finally combined the points to obtain an
overall score per food item. If the latter were positive, we would classify the food item as
healthy. In contrast, when the overall score was negative, we would classify the food item as
unhealthy. Figure 1 illustrates this conceptualization of healthy vs unhealthy food.
After conceptualizing “unhealthy food,” we set certain study boundaries. The research
on unhealthy food consumption is spread across several domains, such as health, marketing,
medical science, psychology and public policy (Dixon et al., 2020b; Harris et al., 2019). Past
literature also attributed unhealthy food consumption (i.e. food high in fat and sugar
content) to various factors such as mental stress (Leow et al., 2018), screen-based sedentary
behaviors and reduction in physical activity (Borraccino et al., 2016) and, in case of young
children, the availability of healthy food in school cafeterias or food environments and their
immediate vicinity (Azeredo et al., 2016). The current review, however, only focuses on how
unhealthy food advertising may lead to unhealthy food consumption, thus excluding the
abovementioned studies.
The current study thus tries to assimilate and review the findings from relevant studies
that explore how some aspects of advertising may link with unhealthy food consumption.
Interestingly, scholars have suggested that certain people are more likely to be exposed to
advertisements and unhealthy food consumption. This includes obese people (Cornil et al.,
2022), young boys rather than young females (Dixon et al., 2014a), individuals with

Figure 1.
Conceptualization of
healthy vs unhealthy
foods
EJM binge-eating habits (Egbert et al., 2020), individuals with high mindfulness (Farrar et al.,
2022) and those with high exposure (in terms of time and frequency of use) to television (TV)
advertisements. All such advertisement-related studies (whether it be TV, print, newspaper
or social media advertisements) concerning unhealthy food consumption, were included in
this review. Therefore, the scope of this review includes findings from relevant studies
focusing on advertising and/or viewer attributes and regulations pertaining to unhealthy
food consumption.

3. Research methodology
The SLR is a popular method of searching, shortlisting, selecting and analyzing relevant
studies (Dhir et al., 2020; Talwar et al., 2021). It enables a structured and comprehensive
review of the literature (Altinay and Taheri, 2019). The current study aims to conduct a
systematic review of the accumulated knowledge regarding the impact of advertising on
unhealthy food consumption. In line with this (Behera et al., 2019), the current review
included two distinct steps, i.e. data extraction and research profiling.

3.1 Data extraction

The data extraction process consists of two main components, i.e. setting the research
questions and then selecting relevant studies (Dhir et al., 2020).
3.1.1 Setting the research questions. To address the main research objective (see
Section 1), we pose following research questions:

RQ1. What is the research profile of the prior relevant literature?

RQ2. How did food advertising relate to unhealthy food consumption in the past
literature, and what are the underlying thematic areas of research?
RQ3. What are the open research gaps and associated avenues for future research?
RQ4. How can research on food advertising and unhealthy food consumption be
advanced?
We address RQ1 by identifying and shortlisting relevant studies and then unraveling their
research profiles via the defined search protocols. Next, we address RQ2 by identifying the
thematic areas of research via in-depth analysis of the shortlisted studies, identifying
different aspects of advertising in enhancing or mitigating unhealthy food consumption. To
respond to RQ3, we evaluate the relevant literature to uncover research gaps and delineate
potential research questions. Finally, we address RQ4 by presenting a conceptual
framework that sets a future research agenda.
3.1.2 Selection of relevant studies. We searched for the keywords of “unhealthy food” and
“advertising” on Google Scholar, reading the title, abstract and keywords of the first 100
most relevant research articles. After analysis, we identified several other relevant
keywords that would make our search more comprehensive. The final list of search
keywords included “advertise*,” “advertiz*,” “unhealthy consumption,” “unhealthy diet,”
“unhealthy food” and “marketing.” Using these keywords, we searched two leading digital
databases, i.e. Scopus and Web of Science (WOS). The search yielded 778 studies in Scopus
and 640 studies in WOS. Out of these 1,418 studies, we screened for duplicate articles and
removed 705 duplicates from the list. The remaining 713 studies were screened for English
journal articles, removing 376 nonsuitable studies. To further identify the most relevant
studies, the remaining 337 studies were screened against detailed inclusion and exclusion
criteria [as suggested by recent SLRs such as that of Kushwah et al. (2019) and Kaur et al. Promoting
(2021)]. The following inclusion and exclusion criteria were set: unhealthy food
Inclusion criteria
consumption

studies discussing some aspect(s) of advertising in relation to unhealthy food
consumption;

all studies available on WOS and Scopus on December 15, 2021;

studies in peer-reviewed journals; and

studies empirically examining proposed relationships between advertising and
unhealthy food consumption.

Exclusion criteria

editorials, conference proceedings, nonpeer-reviewed articles, reviews and theses;

articles published in other languages (nonEnglish); and

duplicate studies.

Two researchers (well-versed in the SLR method) reviewed the titles and abstracts of all 337
studies that fit our conceptual boundary and adhered to our inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Two researchers separately performed this task before sharing their shortlists. After
discussing any variances in their respective shortlists, a consensus list of 174 articles was
proposed for further assessment. We then read the full text of these 174 research articles to
examine their relevance and found that 94 articles did not pertain to any aspect of
advertising in conjunction with unhealthy food consumption. Thus, after excluding those
studies, we were left with 80 studies for further evaluation. To explore whether any other
relevant studies could be included in the review, we performed citation chaining (Dhir et al.,
2020). This process helped us identify eight additional studies that met all the inclusion and
exclusion criteria, leaving us with 88 studies. Based on a suggestion from recent literature
(Madanaguli et al., 2021), we repeated the entire searching and selection process to ensure
that the current review includes the most up-to-date and recent literature on the given topic
(i.e. including relevant articles available on WOS and Scopus until December 2021). During
this second round of screening, we added 11 more articles to our pool, creating a final list of
99 studies that were subsequently considered for thematic or content analyses. The
complete screening process is illustrated in Figure 2.
We reviewed each of the 99 articles for the following information: source of publication,
year of publication, country context, methodology and key findings. Based on the findings,
we generated a research profile of the articles (as presented in Section 3.2). We also
performed a detailed content analysis of the articles to identify key thematic areas of
research, uncovered important research gaps, proposed potential research questions and
created a research framework based on the findings of the review.

3.2 Research profiling

Regarding the research profile, we observed that, in terms of “year of publication,” there were
fewer studies relating to unhealthy food advertising and consumption before 2015 (see Figure 3).
Thereafter, the number of studies significantly increased, reaching a peak of 15 articles published
in 2020. We expect this number will continue to grow in the future. In terms of “method,” most of
the studies (n = 60) used quantitative methodology (using either experimental or survey
methods). Only one study was based on secondary data, while two studies were conceptual
papers. On the other hand, 35 studies used qualitative methods, with the majority (n = 31) using
EJM

Figure 2.
Review process
followed in the
current study

16 15
14

12 11
10
Publicaon trend

10
8
8
Figure 3. 6 5
5 5
The year-wise 4 4 4
publication trend of 4
studies on 2 2 2
2 1 1 1 1 1
advertising and
unhealthy food 0
consumption 1997 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Year

the content analysis method. Focused group interviews or in-depth interviews were rarely used
(n = 5). In terms of “sample,” most studies used children and their parents or students as
respondents. Since children are generally too young to respond to questionnaires, data were
collected from their parents. Most studies administered their questionnaires via various offline
and online modes. We observed that adults and elderly individuals were rarely the focus of prior
studies. Yet, since the problem of unhealthy food consumption also relates to adults and the
elderly (in addition to children), our review will help policymakers to create various advertising
regulation policies for all age groups. In the context of “country,” we observed that most of the
studies originated from the USA (n = 24), Europe (n = 19) and Australia (n = 17). This can
perhaps be attributed to the fact that unhealthy food consumption problems are more prominent
in these countries. However, this skew in data also indicates that implications from past studies
may be biased toward fewer countries and illustrates the need for more geographical and cultural
diversity in future studies on this topic.
Regarding theoretical perspectives, social learning theory, the theory of planned
behavior, social cognitive theory and the theory of reasoned action have been the most
widely used approaches to understand the impact of unhealthy food advertising on
consumption. Regarding antecedents and consequences, most studies used exposure to Promoting
unhealthy food advertising or TV advertising as antecedents, whereas the consumption, unhealthy food
purchasing or purchase requests of unhealthy food were considered as consequences.
The selected studies of this review were published in 46 different peer-reviewed journals
consumption
(see Table 1). This widespread publication across many journals suggests the need for an
assimilation of findings to guide future research directions. The current SLR study is one
such an initiative. The most prominent publishing outlets were “Appetite” as well as other
food- and health-related journals. Surprisingly, fewer studies were published in marketing
journals, signifying a need for marketing literature to investigate this topic of dark side of
advertising.

4. Thematic foci
The selected studies examined different aspects of unhealthy food advertisements. We
attempted to identify common themes within the research to synthesize such a diverse set of
studies systematically. This was achieved by performing a detailed content analysis of all
the selected studies in consonance with SLR method recommendations of prior literature
(Seth et al., 2020). In line with Kaur et al. (2021), we followed a three-step process to ensure an
unbiased view of the literature. First, two researchers performed open coding followed by
deductive and inductive methods of axial coding to identify relationships. Second, to ensure
consensus and interrater reliability, the two researchers discussed the identified codes. Since
unhealthy food advertising and consumption are universally known phenomena, there were
no disagreements. Third, two experts from the advertising industry were asked to review
the themes and subsequently shared their opinions. In the end, we identified three thematic
clusters, i.e.:
(1) viewer attributes pertaining to unhealthy food consumption;
(2) advertisement attributes pertaining to unhealthy food consumption; and
(3) unhealthy food consumption regulation.

We illustrate these key themes, and their corresponding subthemes, in Figure 4. In addition,
for every subtheme, we uncover some literature gaps that require attention and present
corresponding research questions for future research.

Journal name Frequency

Appetite 8
Public Health Nutrition 5
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 4
Pediatric Obesity 4
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 3
Journal of Children and Media 3
Pediatrics 3
Eating Behaviors 2
European Journal of Public Health 2 Table 1.
Frontiers in Psychology 2
Top publication
Health Promotion International 2
Journal of Pediatrics 2 outlets for studies on
Journal of Public Policy and Marketing 2 advertising and
Psychology and Marketing 2 unhealthy food
Social Science and Medicine 2 consumption
EJM Self-health condition

Habits

Viewer attributes Personality traits

Demographics

Advertising literacy and

education

Source attributes

Product/Brand attributes
Advertisement attributes
Thematic Foci

Advertisement frequency,
exposure, and medium

Counter advertising

Unhealthy food
consumpon regulaon Protective advertising

Figure 4.
Thematic foci of the Role of policy and
study governance

4.1 Viewer attributes

The impact of any advertisement on an individual depends on certain individual-specific
attributes – collectively referred to as “viewer attributes” in the advertising context (Gordon
and De Lima-Turner, 1997). Past research suggests that every individual will perceive an
advertisement in a unique manner (Mooradian et al., 2008). Thus, the same advertisement
shown to different individuals would be differently perceived due to different viewer
attributes (Mooradian et al., 2008). For this reason, advertisers and advertising literature
have paid close attention to “viewer attributes” (Christy and Haley, 2008). Parrado-Gonzalez
and Leon-Jariego (2020) found that individuals with good family support, guidance and
supervision are less likely to be affected by advertising. Prior literature thus illustrates that
viewer attributes play a vital role in advertising. Regarding the advertising of specifically
unhealthy food, prior literature noted the influential role of different viewer attributes in
influencing unhealthy food consumption. Our review suggests that scholars generally
examined five different types of viewer attributes, i.e. self-health condition, habits,
personality traits and demographics, as well as advertising literacy and education.
4.1.1 Self-health condition. Hershko et al. (2021) found that individuals with ADHD
consume more unhealthy food (compared to those without ADHD) when they are exposed to
unhealthy food advertisements. Cornil et al. (2022) also found that obese people are more Promoting
responsive to unhealthy food advertising compared to lean people, although bariatric unhealthy food
surgery can reduce this responsiveness (almost to the same level of lean people).
Furthermore, past literature has discussed the “decayed, missing, and filled teeth” (DMFT)
consumption
index as a significant positive moderator in the relationship between unhealthy food
advertisements and consumption. For instance, Gatou et al. (2016) found that children with a
high (vis-a-vis low) DMFT index were more likely to consume unhealthy food when
subjected to unhealthy food advertising. Similarly, Kearny et al. (2021) conducted a
randomized controlled experiment among UK children to investigate the impact of high-
sugar food advertisements on consumption. The findings suggested that children with
dental cavities (i.e. poor dental health conditions) were more likely to consume high-sugar
food items after watching TV advertisements.
Scholars have also observed that the body weight of an individual is associated with the
impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption. For instance, Andreyeva et al. (2011)
reported a stronger association for individuals with high BMI (a measure commonly used
for obesity or body fat that is calculated with an individual’s weight and height) between
unhealthy food advertising and increased consumption of unhealthy food items.
Contrastingly, when investigating the impact of unhealthy food advertising on unhealthy
food consumption, Cervi et al. (2017) reported a stronger impact on non-Hispanic blacks
(compared to non-Hispanic whites) but found no significant differences concerning BMI.
Although past research investigated some self-health conditions in the context of
unhealthy food advertising and consumption, other self-health conditions remain to be
studied. The latter would help us to obtain a better understanding of how different
advertisements affect unhealthy food consumption for different individuals. As stated
above, studies exploring the impact of BMI in the context of unhealthy food advertising and
consumption have produced inconsistent findings, indicating a need to reinvestigate this
impact more robustly in future studies. In line with these research gaps, we propose the
different research questions:

RQ5. How does advertising impact on unhealthy food consumption vary concerning the
BMI of an individual?
RQ6. Can an individual with high (vis-a-vis low) blood pressure be more vulnerable to
unhealthy food advertising?
RQ7. Can diabetic (vis-a-vis nondiabetic) individuals be more vulnerable to unhealthy
food advertising?
RQ8. Can a person with high (vis-a-vis low) cholesterol levels be more vulnerable to
unhealthy food advertising?
4.1.2 Habits. Personal habits play a critical role in the impact that unhealthy food
advertising has on food consumption (Boggiano et al., 2007; Martin et al., 2016). For instance,
individuals with binge eating habits are susceptible to overeating in response to advertising
of unhealthy food (Egbert et al., 2020). The habit of dietary restraint was also discussed as
one of the triggers for unhealthy food consumption (Gatou et al., 2016). Polivy and Herman
(1985) suggested that the habit of engaging in dietary restraint may lead to binge eating,
which, in turn, may lead to increased consumption of unhealthy food. Brunstrom et al. (2004)
also found that young adult females with dietary restraint habits (i.e. placing continuous
restrictions on their diet) showed more salivary responses to unhealthy food advertising.
Based on these findings, Egbert et al. (2020) further investigated the impact of dietary
EJM restraint habits on unhealthy food consumption, reporting that individuals with dietary
restraint habits consume more unhealthy food in response to unhealthy food
advertisements.
Although past literature investigated some personal habits that may impact the relationship
between advertising and unhealthy food consumption, we propose that future research explore
additional personal habits. Specifically, we propose the following research questions:

RQ9. Can the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption vary among
individuals with different breakfast habits (e.g. heavy vs light breakfast habits)?
RQ10. Can the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption vary among
individuals with different sleeping habits (i.e. individuals showing different sleep
cycle patterns)?
4.1.3 Personality traits. Past literature has discussed the influential role of personality traits.
Farrar et al. (2022) investigated the impact of mindfulness (i.e. the quality of being conscious
or aware of something) on unhealthy food consumption and showed that individuals with
high (vis-a-vis low) mindfulness selected less unhealthy food when exposed to unhealthy
food advertisements. Esposito et al. (2021) presented a systematic review of the literature on
associations between personality traits and dietary habits. They subsequently suggested
that personality traits such as neuroticism (i.e. the disposition to experience negative
emotions such as anger, anxiety and depression) and alexithymia (i.e. the inability to
identify and describe emotions) are positively associated with unhealthy food consumption
when the subjects are exposed to unhealthy food advertisements.
Advertising susceptibility is the extent to which individuals attend to and value
commercial messages as information sources to guide their consumptive behaviors (Barr
and Kellaris, 2000). Gesualdo and Yanovitzky (2019) argued that advertising susceptibility
is a strong predictor of unhealthy food preferences, which, in turn, results in the
consumption of such food items. Lioutas and Tzimitra-Kalogianni (2015) also argued that
children’s food preferences may be affected by food advertising (i.e. by generating
expectations or emotions that are dependent on an individual’s personality). In her
investigations regarding the impact of evaluative vis-a-vis factual advertising interventions
on the advertising susceptibility of individuals, Buijzen (2007) suggested that both
interventions reduced the advertising susceptibility of individuals, which, in turn, reduced
unhealthy food consumption.
Self-control is another personality trait that has been discussed in the prior literature.
After exploring the association between TV advertising of unhealthy food, self-control and
food consumption, Giese et al. (2015) suggested that individuals with higher self-control
consume less unhealthy food in response to unhealthy food advertising. Adriaanse et al.
(2014) also reported that self-control is an influential variable in inhibiting unhealthy (vis-
a-vis healthy) food intake when exposed to advertising.
Impulsivity is another (less examined) personality trait in the prior literature. Impulsivity
or impulse buying tendency, reflects a consumer’s tendency to buy, immediately, kinetically,
spontaneously and unreflectively (Rook and Fisher, 1995). Folkvord et al. (2014) found that
impulse buying tendency moderated the impact of unhealthy food advertising on
consumption, with high impulse buying individuals consuming more unhealthy food when
exposed to advertisements.
Based on the prior literature, certain “other” personality traits should be investigated in
the context of unhealthy food advertising and consumption. We suggest the following:
 RQ11. How does the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption vary across Promoting
individuals with different levels of personality traits such as self-control, self- unhealthy food
monitoring or impulsiveness?
consumption
RQ12. How does the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption vary for the
“Big 5 personality traits” (i.e., agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion,
neuroticism and openness)?
4.1.4 Demographics. Prior literature has examined the influential role that three key
demographic variables (i.e. age, gender and socioeconomic conditions) play in the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption.
In terms of gender, Dixon et al. (2014b) suggested that the effect of unhealthy food
advertisements on children’s preferences for unhealthy food products is stronger in boys
when the advertisement uses a sportsperson as the model. In contrast, Mayrhofer et al.
(2020) found that the impact of advertisements on unhealthy food consumption was more
prominent in women in the African context. Otterbring (2020) suggested that the impact of
advertising is more prominent among boys in context of unhealthy food consumption.
In terms of age, it appears that older (vis-a-vis younger) individuals consume more
unhealthy food when exposed to such advertising. Beales and Kulick (2013) reported that
TV advertising of unhealthy food especially increased the consumption of such food items
among children that are above seven years of age (compared to younger children).
Andreyeva et al. (2011) also argued that soft drink and fast-food-related TV advertising is
associated with increased consumption of these items among elementary school children.
Finally, the relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption also
depends on the socio-economic status of individuals. Busse and Piotrowski (2017) examined
the impact of advertisements on unhealthy food consumption among Peruvian children and
found a more prominent relationship for children from high socio-economic status families.
Although some studies investigated the role of certain demographic factors in the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption, other factors remain
unexplored. Moreover, past studies investigating the impact of certain demographic factors
(i.e. age and gender) produced mixed findings in this context. Therefore, we propose the
following research questions in line with these research gaps:

RQ13. Does individualistic vis-a-vis collectivistic culture play a moderating role in the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption?
RQ14. Does the moderating effect of gender in the relationship between advertising and
unhealthy food consumption vary across cultures?
RQ15. Does the moderating effect of age in the relationship between advertising and
unhealthy food consumption vary across cultures?
4.1.5 Advertising literacy and education. Past research suggests that advertising literacy
significantly reduces unhealthy food purchasing behaviors. For instance, Liao et al. (2016)
reported that while children engaged in unhealthy food purchasing behaviors when exposed
to unhealthy food advertisements, this effect was moderated by advertising literacy
[i.e. children with high (vis-a-vis low) advertising literacy bought less unhealthy food].
Furthermore, this moderation was more prominent right after exposure to the advertising
literacy program (as opposed to a month later). Ha et al. (2020) suggested that advertising
literacy creates cognitive skepticism among individuals when they are exposed to unhealthy
food advertising, causing them to think critically, which, in turn, reduces the probability of
unhealthy food consumption.
EJM These highlighted studies show that advertising literacy and education significantly
affect the relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption. However,
there is a dearth of research investigating this impact in the online media advertising
context. Considering the widespread use of online advertising, marketers are curious to
know how social media or online media advertising literacy can impact unhealthy food
consumption. In line with this, we pose the following research questions for future
investigations:

RQ16. Can social media or online media advertising literacy (i.e. knowing terminologies
such as conversion rate and screen time) have an impact on unhealthy food
consumption?
RQ17. What is the best-suited channel for advertising literacy to minimize the impact of
advertising on unhealthy food consumption?
RQ18. Regarding the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption, can the
type of channel for advertising literacy vary across (a) different age groups, (b)
different cultures and (c) gender?

4.2 Advertisement attributes

In addition to viewer attributes, perceptions of advertising also depend on advertising
attributes (Mooradian et al., 2008). As such, these attributes (e.g. source, product or brand
and exposure or frequency) have been widely studied in the past (Carter et al., 2013; Dixon
et al., 2014b; Gardner, 1983; Kelly et al., 2016b; Wright and Lynch, 1995). More recently,
Silvera and Austad (2004) reported that celebrity endorsements induce more favorable
advertisement ratings and product evaluations, while Schmidt and Eisend (2015) reported
that advertising frequency has a strong positive relationship with advertising effectiveness.
Based on its importance in the literature, the current SLR study also considered
“advertisement attributes” as one of the major thematic areas of research. Prior literature
focused on three different types, i.e. (a) source attributes, (b) product or brand attributes and
(c) advertising exposure, frequency and medium.
4.2.1 Source attributes. The use of licensed characters (e.g. cartoons or popular
characters from children’s TV shows or movies) in advertising enhances the probability of
unhealthy food consumption (Letona et al., 2014), as does the presence of sports celebrities
(especially among children) (Carter et al., 2013; Dixon et al., 2014b; Kelly et al., 2016b).
Similarly, the display of brand equity characters may promote unhealthy food choices in
children (McGale et al., 2016), while the ubiquitous nature of celebrity presence in media may
reinforce such unhealthy eating practices (Boyland et al., 2013; Woodward et al., 1997).
Interestingly, Coates et al. (2019) also found that, when exposed to influencers with
unhealthy snacks, children significantly increased their intake of such snacks (yet children
who viewed influencers with healthy snacks were not affected). Their research thus
illustrated the impact of specifically advertising on unhealthy food consumption.
In terms of adolescents’ food choices, Kucharczuk et al. (2022) reported that the use of
celebrities and influencers in advertisements is a common tactic to promote unhealthy food
consumption. Kinard and Webster (2010) also found that exposure to tobacco- and alcohol-
related advertisements with positive or favorable stereotypes (i.e. behaviors portrayed as
being attractive, successful or healthy) was a significant predictor of adolescent tobacco use
and alcohol consumption. Scholars further argue that when customers perceive
advertisement models to be “someone like them,” the impact of such advertisements
enhances attitudes toward unhealthy food, especially among black and Latino adolescents
(Harris et al., 2019). Finally, after studying aging discrimination in Chinese advertisements, Promoting
Jiao and Chang (2020) suggested that the appearance of older people in advertisements also unhealthy food
enhanced unhealthy food consumption.
In addition to source person popularity, past literature has examined the influential role
consumption
of the physical appearance of advertisement models. Lin and McFerran (2016) argued that
normal-sized models had more of an impact on unhealthy food consumption compared to
thin- or plus-sized models. In contrast, Campbell and Mohr (2011) found that exposure to any
advertisement featuring an overweight (vis-a-vis normal weight) model may trigger more
unhealthy food consumption. Similarly, Plummer and Forestell (2019) found that exposure
to plus-sized (vis-a-vis thin) models in advertisements made women consume more
unhealthy food. Furthermore, Connors et al. (2021) suggested that when overweight
individuals are exposed to unhealthy food advertisements with overweight models, they
perceive higher levels of product-model fit, leading to more favorable advertisement
evaluations and more purchase intentions for unhealthy products.
Finally, past literature also discussed advertising appeal in relation to unhealthy food
consumption. Specifically, Lasaleta et al. (2021) investigated the impact of nostalgic appeal
on healthy (vis-a-vis unhealthy) food consumption. The results from two experiments
suggested that nostalgic advertising appeal enhanced healthy food consumption, whereas
the same appeal diminished unhealthy food consumption. Therefore, nostalgic appeal may
be a powerful tool for policymakers to reduce unhealthy food consumption.
Based on the relevant findings about source attributes in advertising, we uncovered
some research gaps on the topic of unhealthy food consumption. For instance, there is a lack
of theory-driven research in the domain of different advertisement attributes. There is also a
dearth of research that relate different advertising appeals to unhealthy food consumption.
In addition, the comparative impact of celebrity (vis-a-vis noncelebrity) endorsements in
advertisements on unhealthy food consumption has not received much attention in this
context, nor has there been enough focus on exploring how these endorsements have varied
effects on unhealthy food consumption across consumer demographics (i.e. different age
groups, cultures and gender).
In line with these research gaps, we propose some research questions:

RQ19. Which specific theories in advertising literature can be used to explain the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption?
RQ20. Which advertising appeals affect unhealthy food consumption the most?
RQ21. How does advertising impact on unhealthy food consumption differ for celebrity
vis-a-vis noncelebrity endorsements?
RQ22. Can the advertising impact of celebrity (vis-a-vis noncelebrity) endorsements on
unhealthy food consumption vary across (a) different age groups, (b) different
cultures or (c) gender?
4.2.2 Product or brand attributes. Product placement in advertisements (i.e. the paid-for or
purposeful inclusion of branded products or brand identifiers via audio or visual means)
plays an influential moderating role in the relationship between unhealthy food
advertisements and consumption. For example, Manippa et al. (2022) found that the desire to
eat high-calorie unhealthy food was higher when such products were placed on the bottom
left side of the screen in advertisements. Furthermore, Uribe and Fuentes-García (2015)
found that when TV commercials combine unhealthy food product placement with
unhealthy food advertising (as opposed to having either on their own), brand awareness and
EJM behavioral disposition increased among children. This behavioral disposition is, however,
known to decrease with age. Another significant moderating role is that of online
engagement.
Although past studies explored the role of certain product- or brand-related attributes in
the relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption, other attributes need
further investigation in this context. After uncovering some gaps in the literature, we
propose the following research questions:

RQ23. Can various brand-related attributes (e.g. brand awareness, brand familiarity
and brand association) act as moderators in the relationship between advertising
and unhealthy food consumption?
RQ24. Can the impact of different brand attributes in the context of advertising and
unhealthy food consumption vary across (a) different age groups, (b) different
cultures and (c) gender?
4.2.3 Advertisement exposure, frequency and medium. Past research has suggested a
strong positive relationship between advertisement exposure and unhealthy food
consumption. For example, Gatou et al. (2016) and Harris et al. (2021) found that exposure to
unhealthy food advertisements significantly increased the selection of unhealthy foods
among children. Emond et al. (2016) also suggested that exposure to unhealthy food
advertising increases eating in the absence of hunger and ultimately results in the
unnecessary consumption of unhealthy food items. Studies in the context of young children
produced similar findings. For instance, Gascoyne et al. (2021) reported a positive
association between unhealthy food advertisement exposure and unhealthy food intake for
Australian children, while Allemandi et al. (2018) reported similar findings for Argentinean
children (where exposure resulted in the consumption of specifically unhealthy processed
and ultra-processed foods). Similar to findings suggested by Hingle and Kunkel (2012) and
Lobstein and Dibb (2005), Signal et al. (2017) found a significant association between
exposure to unhealthy food advertising and the tendency to buy and consume more
unhealthy food, while Harris et al. (2018) suggested a positive relationship between
unhealthy food advertisements and attitude toward advertisement and food brands.
Past research also examined the influential role of frequency and duration of viewing on
unhealthy food advertisements and consumption. Both Dixon et al. (2007) and Livingstone
(2006) suggested that heavier TV use and frequent commercial TV viewings were
associated with more positive attitudes toward unhealthy food. Velazquez and Pasch (2014)
also suggested that length of exposure (i.e. time spent) and frequency of viewing the same
unhealthy food and beverage advertisements were positively associated with unhealthy
food and beverage preferences in young people. Smit et al. (2020) examined the role of vlog-
watching frequency on unhealthy food consumption pattern. Their findings suggested that
the frequency of vlog-watching may influence the consumption of unhealthy beverages (but
not unhealthy snacks).
The platforms for viewing advertisements (e.g. TV, social media, print media and online
food delivery [OFD] platforms) are influential in the context of unhealthy food consumption.
Jones et al. (2010) indicated that TV advertising is one of the relationship-building marketing
communication techniques that influence the audience to consume more unhealthy food.
Prior literature has extensively examined the impact of TV advertisements on children’s and
young people’s unhealthy food consumption behaviors. Matthews (2008) found that
unhealthy foods were the most marketed and consumed by children across all countries. Ng
et al. (2015) further argued that TV (a powerful medium) and appealing TV commercials
predispose the minds of children to unhealthy foods. Kelly et al. (2016a) reported similar Promoting
findings for children that watch a lot of commercial TV. unhealthy food
The second most well-researched platform is social media sites. McLeay and Oglethorpe
(2013) suggested that social media advertising has a strong positive association with
consumption
unhealthy food consumption. In line with this, Murphy et al. (2020) found that the
positive impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption becomes accelerated
when advertisements are shared on social media by peers and celebrities. Buchanan
et al. (2018) further suggested that specifically digital marketing on social media
platforms is more strongly associated with young adults’ consumption of unhealthy
beverages. Similarly, finally, Fleming-Milici and Harris (2020) argued that engagement
with unhealthy food brands on social media is common for adolescents, with less
accultured Hispanic adolescents being more likely to engage in this behavior than white
adolescents.
A limited number of studies have compared the effectiveness of different platforms in the
unhealthy food consumption context. Norman et al. (2018b) suggested that, when combined,
online advertising and TV exerted a stronger influence on food consumption of young
children. Contrastingly, Bragg et al. (2021) reported no differences between social media
advertisements and traditional TV advertisements in shaping adolescents’ preferences
for unhealthy food. On another note, OFD platforms only recently emerged as being
influential for unhealthy food advertising. The recent Brazilian study by Horta et al. (2021)
confirmed that unhealthy food advertising was most prominent on OFD platforms during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the limited research about advertising exposure, frequency and medium in the
context of advertising and unhealthy food consumption, we uncovered a few research gaps
and proposed the following research questions:

RQ25. What is the optimum advertisement length and frequency that the
advertising industry uses to achieve maximum impact on unhealthy food
consumption?
RQ26. Which is the most effective advertising channel (i.e. offline vs TV vs social
media) used by the advertising industry for promoting unhealthy food?
RQ27. Can the impact of various advertising channels (i.e. offline vs TV vs social
media) on unhealthy food consumption be uniform across various cultures, age
groups and gender?
RQ28. Can there be any specific time of the day during which a maximum impact of
advertising on unhealthy food consumption is achieved?
RQ29. How can the sharing of advertisements on social media by peers vs celebrities
impact unhealthy food consumption across different age groups, cultures and
gender?

4.3 Regulations on unhealthy food consumption

Prior literature discussed regulations to minimize unhealthy food consumption due to food
advertising and found that regulations can be classified into three categories, i.e. counter-
advertising, protective advertising and the role of policy and governance.
4.3.1 Counter-advertising. Dixon et al. (2014a) defined counter-advertising as a mode of
advertising where advertisements challenge the advertisers’ motives, showcase the negative
EJM health implications of consuming unhealthy food products, and even expose the misleading
offers and promotions. To reduce children’s susceptibility to unhealthy food consumption
by promoting resilience to food commercials, Ha et al. (2020) suggested introducing food
advertising literacy interventions that enhance cognitive skepticism and critical thinking
among children. Anti-industry counter-advertising is another way that detracts from
favorable customer attitudes toward unhealthy foods (Dixon et al., 2020b). Scholars
furthermore suggest that counter-advertising diminishes product advertisement effects on
parents’ purchasing preferences, product perceptions and brand attitudes (Dixon et al.,
2020a). In addition, it can prompt parents to perceive processed foods (that are higher in
sugar and lower in fiber) as less healthy, thus increasing support for advertising regulations.
We note that only a limited number of studies assessed the impact of counter-advertising
in the regulation of unhealthy food consumption. Moreover, the effectiveness of counter-
advertising in reducing advertising impact on unhealthy food consumption is unexplored
across demographics (e.g. different age groups, cultures and gender). In line with these
research gaps, we propose the following research questions:

RQ30. Can counter-advertising be an effective tool to minimize the impact of

advertising on unhealthy food consumption?
RQ31. Can counter-advertising be an effective tool to reduce the impact of advertising
on unhealthy food consumption across different age groups, different cultures
and gender?
4.3.2 Protective-advertising. According to past research, another method to minimize
unhealthy food consumption may be to include a “protective message” in unhealthy food
advertisements. We call this “protective advertising.” However, Folkvord et al. (2017) found
that the inclusion of a “protective message” in unhealthy food advertising did not reduce the
impact of advertisements among children who continued their consumption of unhealthy
food, irrespective of this message. Yet implicit (i.e. physical activity) and explicit (i.e. health
claims) health messages are increasingly prevalent in UK TV food advertisements that
promote unhealthy food items to children (Whalen et al., 2018). This despite findings that the
inclusion of health messages in unhealthy food advertising does not impact children’s
attitudes toward exercise or nutrition (Harris et al., 2018), nor does it reduce the impact of
unhealthy food advertisements on unhealthy food consumption in adolescents (Fernandez-
Escobar et al., 2021).
Considering the limited number of studies assessing the impact of protective advertising
in the regulation of unhealthy food consumption, our study proposes the following research
questions:

RQ32. Can protective advertising be an effective way to minimize the impact of

advertising on unhealthy food consumption?
RQ33. Can protective advertising be an effective method to reduce the impact of
advertising on unhealthy food consumption across different age groups,
different cultures and gender?
4.3.3 Role of policy and governance. Increasing concern regarding unhealthy food
consumption across different countries has encouraged many governments to design and
implement advertisement regulation policies. However, the effectiveness of these policies in
mitigating the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption is questionable.
Therefore, scholars have performed content analyses to analyze the adherence of
advertisements to regulation policies of various countries (and suggest some corrective Promoting
measures that could enhance the effectiveness of such policies). unhealthy food
In different countries, one major drawback in current government regulation policies is
the lack of a proper definition for “unhealthy food,” allowing advertisers and marketers to
consumption
easily find loopholes in these policies. In line with this, Kent and Pauze (2018) recommended
that the Canadian Government broaden its definition of unhealthy food while developing
policies for unhealthy food advertising. Other studies (Scully et al., 2015; Stitt and Kunkel,
2008; Whalen et al., 2018) suggested some modifications in government regulatory policies
regarding the permissible frequency of unhealthy food advertisements. Tatlow-Golden et al.
(2015) also suggested a need for stricter nutrient profiling in Ireland (i.e. certain information
must be applied to food items within advertisements).
Another stream of research has provided topic-related recommendations to the
policymakers of specific countries. For instance, Whalen et al. (2018) suggested that the UK
Government should amend existing advertising regulation policies to address the issue of
having excessive implicit (i.e. physical activity) and explicit (i.e. health claims) health
messages in UK TV food advertising viewed by children. To keep them strictly abiding by
advertising regulation policies, governments can also impose certain incentives and
deterrents on various food and beverage industry stakeholders. For example, Puspikawati
et al. (2021) proposed that the Indonesian Government use certain disincentives (e.g.
imposing taxes) on outdoor advertisements for unhealthy foods and beverages.

5. Framework development
After summarizing critical findings, this SLR study provides a conceptual framework to
support theory and practice in the domain. We adapted the framework flow from the stimulus-
organism-response (S-O-R) model (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974), one of the most influential
models that explain the effect of various external (stimuli) and internal (organism) variables on
human behavior (Manthiou et al., 2017). This structural model also relates observable and
unobservable variables with response variables (Hempel and Hamm, 2016).
In the context of the current study, we propose that the advertising attributes (stimuli)
and viewer attributes (organism) together reduce the value of a long-term goal (i.e. obesity
reduction). This, in turn, makes the short-term goal (i.e. consuming unhealthy food) more
desirable despite its consequences and, as such, individuals engage in unhealthy food
consumption. To summarize, our conceptual framework entitled the “Advertising and
unhealthy food consumption ecosystem framework” is guided by the S-O-R model, covering
four main components:
(1) Advertising attributes acting as stimuli;
(2) Viewer attributes acting as organisms;
(3) Unhealthy food consumption acting as a response (short-term desire); and
(4) Unhealthy food consumption regulation that can be used to achieve a long-term
goal.

The four components of the framework are discussed below.

5.1 Stimuli
Stimuli are environmental factors that are external to individuals (De Nisco and Warnaby,
2014). The S-O-R model assumes that when individuals are exposed to stimuli, they
uniquely process those stimuli and produce a response accordingly (Kotler and Armstrong,
2011). Marketers are interested in the transformation of stimuli into responses. In the current
EJM study, advertising attributes act as stimulus factors that are external to the individual. We
argue that the advertising attributes related to unhealthy food consumption can be classified
into three streams:
(1) source attributes;
(2) product or brand attributes; and
(3) advertising exposure, frequency and medium.

Source attributes are specific to the models used in the advertisement (i.e. model character,
popularity and physical appearance), whereas product or brand attributes pertain to specific
product or brand characteristics (e.g. brand awareness, online brand engagement and
product placement in the advertisement). The third stream focuses on advertisement
exposure time, frequency and the channel or medium through which the individuals are
exposed to the advertisement. Although past research has focused on these streams in the
context of advertising and unhealthy food consumption, we observed that there is a dearth
of research relating to certain advertising attributes (e.g. advertising appeals, brand
association, brand awareness, brand familiarity and celebrity vs noncelebrity
endorsements). We present the corresponding research gaps and potential research
questions in the next section.

5.2 Organism
Organism refers to internal factors that are specific to an individual and may vary in
response to stimuli (De Nisco and Warnaby, 2014). Although marketers are interested in the
stimuli-to-response transformation, the latter takes place via the so-called “black box” of the
organism (Kotler and Armstrong, 2011). Therefore, in addition to understanding stimuli (to
achieve certain response variables), marketers are also interested in investigating organism
factors that contribute to the response variable. In the current study, viewer attributes act as
organism factors and were divided into five subcategories, i.e. self-health condition, habits,
personality traits, demographics and advertising literacy and education. The transformation
of various advertising stimuli into a response (i.e. unhealthy food consumption) depends on
these organism factors. In this regard, we observed that although past literature mainly
focused on the five subthemes (mentioned above) in relation to unhealthy food consumption,
there are few gaps regarding other viewer attributes (e.g. BMI, impulsiveness, self-control
and self-monitoring). We present these research gaps mapped with potential research
questions in the next section.

5.3 Response
We define our long-term goal as “obesity reduction.” We further propose that various
advertising attributes (stimuli) and viewer attributes (organism) reduce the value of obesity
reduction. This reduction in the value of a long-term goal mitigates the self-control of
individuals, causing them to consume unhealthy food (short-term goal) despite the negative
consequences. Although past research suggested a strong positive association between
advertising and unhealthy food consumption (based on empirical findings from content
analyses, meta-analyses and laboratory experiments), our study assimilates all these
findings and presents them in a conceptual framework that can guide academicians as well
as practitioners in their future work.
5.4 Unhealthy food consumption regulation Promoting
To achieve the long-term goal of obesity reduction, we include a fourth component, i.e. unhealthy food
“Unhealthy food consumption regulation,” in our framework. This component comprises
three sub-components:
consumption
(1) counter-advertising;
(2) protective advertising; and the
(3) role of policy and governance.

Past literature has suggested a few strategies to mitigate the impact of various advertising
and viewer attributes on unhealthy food consumption. After assimilating these findings into
three sub-themes (mentioned above), we ultimately suggest ways to achieve the long-term
goal of obesity reduction. Thus, our framework not only assimilates relevant literature to
suggest the roles of various stimulus and organism factors in unhealthy food consumption,
but it also highlights the effectiveness of various strategies commonly used by governments
and policymakers to help customers achieve obesity reduction. Figure 5 represents the
conceptual framework of the study.

6. Potential research models on unhealthy food advertising and consumption

Based on the findings in the “Thematic Foci” section, in addition to the conceptual
framework, we also propose five potential research models here examining diverse
aspects of advertising and unhealthy food consumption. We develop these models
based on the thorough literature review presented in the earlier sections. These
potential research models will guide interested scholars and practitioners to shape the
future research discourse around unhealthy food advertising and consumption. This
section provides very specific research models which can be tested by future research.
We present these models here:

Figure 5.
Conceptual
framework of the
current study
EJM 6.1 Model 1: Viewer attributes and unhealthy food consumption
We propose Model 1 (Figure 6) to delineate the impact of unhealthy food advertising on
unhealthy food consumption in the case of individuals with different attributes. Past
research suggests that every individual perceives an advertisement in a unique manner
(Mooradian et al., 2008) and that these perceptions depend on different viewer attributes
(Christy and Haley, 2008). Although ADHD (Hershko et al., 2021), binge eating habits
(Egbert et al., 2020) and the DMFT index (Gatou et al., 2016) have been discussed, the impact
of other viewer attributes needs more in-depth exploration in this context. For instance, BMI
as a moderator in the relationship between unhealthy food advertising and consumption has
revealed mixed findings (Cervi et al., 2017). Therefore, we propose examining the
moderating roles of some underexplored viewer attributes (e.g. age, BMI, culture, gender,
impulsiveness, self-control and self-monitoring) in the relationship between unhealthy food
advertising and consumption. We also expect that the impact of age and gender may vary
across cultures.

6.2 Model 2: Brand attributes and unhealthy food consumption

In Model 2 (Figure 7), we suggest examining the role of various brand attributes, i.e. brand
awareness, brand association and brand familiarity, in the relationship between unhealthy
food advertising and consumption. Uribe and Fuentes-García (2015) reported that brand
awareness and behavioral disposition among children increase when product placement and
advertising are combined. However, their research did not link this behavioral disposition
with unhealthy food consumption. Furthermore, past research did not focus on the roles of
other brand attributes (such as brand familiarity and brand association) in the context of
unhealthy food advertising and consumption. Therefore, we propose testing all the
abovementioned brand attributes as moderating roles in the relationship between unhealthy
food advertising and consumption. As the perception of brand attributes may differ across
age, culture and gender (Uribe and Fuentes-García, 2015), the proposed model also suggests
testing across these demographics.

Figure 6.
Model 1: Viewer
attributes and
unhealthy food
consumption
6.3 Model 3: Advertisement appeal and unhealthy food consumption Promoting
The third proposed model (Figure 8) captures the effect of different types of unhealthy food
advertising appeals on the relationship between unhealthy food advertising and
consumption. It is known that the type of advertising appeal impacts consumer
consumption
behavior (Green and Peloza, 2014). For example, various advertising appeals such as
humor (Warren et al., 2018), scarcity (Hamilton et al., 2019), fear (Sternthal and Craig,
1974), disgust (Chan and Septianto, 2022) and nostalgia (Zhou et al., 2012) have been
discussed in a consumer behavior context. Lasaleta et al. (2021) specifically
investigated the impact of nostalgic appeal on healthy (vis-a-vis unhealthy) food
consumption and reported that this type of appeal diminished unhealthy food
consumption. While studies recently started to investigate specific advertising
appeals in the context of unhealthy food consumption, comparative studies that
investigate the differential impact of various advertising appeals on unhealthy food
consumption remain to be conducted. We thus propose the testing of all the
abovementioned advertising appeals as moderating effects of the relationship
between unhealthy food advertising and consumption across age, culture and
gender.

Figure 7.
Model 2: Brand
attributes and
unhealthy food
consumption

Figure 8.
Model 3:
Advertisement
appeal and unhealthy
food consumption
EJM 6.4 Model 4: Type, time, optimum length and frequency of advertising and unhealthy food
consumption
In Model 4 (Figure 9), we suggest that scholars investigate the moderating role of type of
advertising (i.e. online, print or TV) regarding the relationship between unhealthy food
advertising and consumption. In addition, the same model can investigate the optimum
length and frequency of the advertisement as well as the specific times of day during which
advertising maximally impacts unhealthy food consumption. The proposed model will thus
investigate the moderating roles of the type and timing as well as the optimum length and
frequency of advertisements across age, culture and gender.

6.5 Model 5: Unhealthy food consumption regulation

As unhealthy food consumption is a major concern throughout the world, current research
needs to focus on its regulation. Past research suggested that counter-advertising (Dixon
et al., 2014c) and protective advertising (Folkvord et al., 2017) may considerably reduce the
impact of unhealthy food advertising on consumption. We believe this impact may vary
across age, culture and gender. As such, in Model 5 (Figure 10), we propose an investigation
of the roles of counter-advertising and protective advertising in reducing unhealthy food
consumption across age, culture and gender.

Figure 9.
Model 4: Type, time,
optimum length and
frequency of
advertising and
unhealthy food
consumption

Figure 10.
Model 5: Unhealthy
food consumption
regulation
7. Conclusion Promoting
The current SLR critically examined the literature that previously assessed the impact of unhealthy food
advertising on unhealthy food consumption. To answer the four research questions, we
initially disentangled the existing research by systematically organizing it according to the
consumption
research profile (i.e. year of publication, method, sample and country), theoretical
perspectives, antecedents, boundary conditions, consequences and key findings for 99
articles. Then we conducted a content analysis of the selected studies and extracted three
major themes: viewer attributes pertaining to unhealthy food consumption, advertisement
attributes pertaining to unhealthy food consumption and unhealthy food consumption
regulation. We critically analyzed the extracted themes to identify significant gaps in the
literature while proposing research questions with the potential to fill these gaps.
Furthermore, we consolidated the findings of all the studies that suggest certain
modifications in existing government regulation policies about advertising might be
necessary. The study also proposes five models to understand various aspects of the
relationship between advertising and unhealthy food consumption. In the final sections
below, we discuss the study’s theoretical and practical implications for further scholarly and
managerial action.

7.1 Theoretical implications

The current SLR contributes to the body of literature investigating advertising in the
context of unhealthy food consumption. First, although there are numerous content analysis
and meta-analysis studies in this domain, these studies focused on highlighting the fact that
exposure to advertising leads to unhealthy food consumption. They do not, however,
provide a comprehensive picture of which specific advertisement-related attributes
contribute to unhealthy food consumption. This SLR thus adds to the existing body of
literature by assimilating all the relevant findings in the domain and highlighting specific
advertisement-related attributes that contribute to unhealthy food consumption.
Second, to analyze the impact of advertising on unhealthy food consumption, past
research suggested that viewer attributes are equally important as advertisement attributes.
Advertising effectiveness varies from person to person; however, based on empirical
evidence, certain viewer attributes may affect the advertisement and unhealthy food
consumption relationship. Yet, there is a dearth of research assimilating such findings. Our
SLR tries to fill this gap by systematically consolidating the findings of all such studies and
classifying them under sub-themes of viewer attributes.
Third, the few SLR studies in this domain either focused on a limited number of studies
regarding children or did not consider literature from the past decade (Kelly et al., 2015). Our
SLR gives a comprehensive picture of the domain by considering all the studies up to 2022
that focus on children as well as adults.
Fourth, most of the past research related to unhealthy food consumption fell within the
medical science or psychology domains (with very few articles in the marketing domain). By
presenting future research avenues from marketers’ as well as policymakers’ perspectives,
our SLR contributes to the marketing domain on this topic.
Fifth, based on the research gaps we identified, we developed and propose five potential
research models. Future research could use these models to bring different perspectives to
the marketing domain.

7.2 Practical implications

Our study presents implications for managers and policymakers.
EJM First, our study provides a comprehensive picture of the various initiatives taken by
governments and policymakers across different countries in the domain of advertising and
unhealthy food consumption. By consolidating the findings of studies that assessed the
effectiveness of such initiatives in mitigating unhealthy food consumption, this SLR
uncovered some pitfalls in such initiatives. In line with this, previously suggested policy
changes (relating to unhealthy food advertising) are highlighted to help policymakers and
governments in enhancing the effectiveness of their existing policies, thereby protecting
consumers from the detrimental effects of advertising.
Second, our review corroborates the fact that advertising exposure is strongly associated
with unhealthy food consumption and that the strength of this relationship depends on
multiple viewer attributes (e.g. advertising literacy and education, demographics, personal
habits, personality traits and self-health condition). Although exposure to unhealthy food
advertising cannot be avoided, consumers can protect themselves against the detrimental
impact of such advertising by positively working on their attributes. For instance, as the
habit of binge eating enhances unhealthy food consumption when exposed to advertising
(Egbert et al., 2020), consumers may try to get rid of this habit to reduce the impact of
unhealthy food advertising. As advertising literacy mitigates the impact of unhealthy food
advertising (Liao et al., 2016), consumers could also deliberately engage themselves in
advertising literacy and education programs.
Third, our framework based on the S-O-R model summarizes the entire advertising
domain in the context of unhealthy food consumption. It presents three themes and
corresponding sub-themes that could directly help managers and advertisers to understand
the exact impact of various viewer and advertisement attributes on unhealthy food
consumption. This, in turn, could help them to design advertising strategies accordingly.
The framework could also help customers to avoid the trap of unhealthy food advertising.
Fourth, the potential research models that we proposed based on the literature gaps
could help managers and advertisers to assess the relationship between advertising and
unhealthy food consumption with respect to various attributes, i.e.:

age, BMI, culture, gender, impulsiveness, self-control and self-monitoring (Model 1);

brand association, brand awareness and brand familiarity (Model 2);

type of advertising appeal (Model 3);

type, time, optimum length and frequency of advertisements (Model 4); and

counter-advertising and protective advertising (Model 5).

In turn, these research models could help managers and advertisers to design various
advertising strategies that target different customers.

7.3 Limitations and future research areas

The present SLR has certain limitations. First, due to the authors’ language constraints, it
includes only English articles. As such, there is a possibility that relevant literature in other
languages could have enhanced the robustness of the review. Second, the SLR only included
articles from Scopus and WoS databases. These databases are comprehensive, but it is
possible that some relevant studies could have been missed. Third, we only included peer-
reviewed articles, leaving the possibility that relevant literature from grey literature,
editorials and nonpeer-reviewed articles, etc., was missed. To address these limitations and
enhance the robustness of the review, future research could consider other works (e.g.
proceedings, chapters and peer-reviewed papers) and include studies published in other
languages. Fourth, we manually conducted filtration and screening processes. Therefore, we
cannot rule out the possibility of human error and judgmental bias. To minimize potential Promoting
biases and errors, the researchers in this study were independently tasked with filtering and unhealthy food
screening the articles (based on the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria). However,
consumption
researchers might devise more robust methods in the future.
Finally, although this SLR provides a detailed discussion of the emerging themes in
advertising and unhealthy food consumption literature, it does not focus on a detailed
understanding of recurring networks (e.g. researchers or countries at the forefront of
analyzing the issue of unhealthy food advertising). Future bibliometric studies may help fill
this gap. Nevertheless, we believe that this SLR will act as a foundation for future scholarly
investigations in the field of advertising and unhealthy food consumption.

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2020.10.016.
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About the authors

Bilwa Deshpande (PhD) is an Assistant Professor of Marketing, Vijay Patil School of Management
(VPSM), Navi Mumbai, India. Her work has been published in Psychology and Marketing, Journal of
Strategic Marketing, among others.
Puneet Kaur (DSc) is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Psychosocial
Science, University of Bergen, Norway. Her research appears in Journal of Retailing and Consumer
Services, International Journal of Information Management, Computers in Human Behaviour,
International Journal of Hospitality Management, Information Technology and People, among others.
Alberto Ferraris, PhD in Business and Management, is currently working as an Associate
Professor at the University of Turin. Since 2016, he is a Research Fellow of the Laboratory for
International and Regional Economics, Ural Federal University (Russia) and he is a Fellow (F-EMAB)
and an active member of the EuroMed Research Business Institute. He is the author of many
academic and scientific articles as well as he serves as a Guest Editor or in the Editorial Board in
several prestigious international journals, such as Journal of International Management, Journal of
Business Research and Annals of Tourism Research. Alberto Ferraris is the corresponding author and
can be contacted at: alberto.ferraris@unito.it
Dorra Yahiaoui is an Associate Professor and Head of Management Department at Kedge
Business School, France. She is teaching Human Resource Management and Organizational
Behavior. She holds a PhD in Management from the University of Lyon III, France. She is an alumna
of the International Teachers Program at London of Business School and head of the research group
Human Resource Management at EuroMed Research Business Institute. Her research is mainly
focused on the International transfer of HRM practices, the International Innovation Process within
MNCs, and the Management in the Middle East, North African and Asian countries. She published
several book chapters and articles in high-ranked journals such as Human Resource Management,
The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Business Research, Asia
Pacific Business Review, Thunderbird: International Business Review, International Marketing Review,
among others.
Amandeep Dhir (DSc, PhD) is a Professor of Research Methods at University of Agder, Norway.
He is also a visiting professor at Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger,
Norway. His research appears in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International
Journal of Information Management, Computers in Human Behaviour, Computers in Industry,
International Journal of Hospitality Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Food quality and
preferences, Appetite, Information Technology and People, Australasian Marketing Journal,
Enterprise Information Systems, among others.

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