Ultraprocessed Food Ads Play on Our Emotions
For some people, advertisements for fast food trigger an emotional response.
Ultraprocessed food ads on TV and social media may trigger your emotions, making you believe you’ll be happier if you eat them. This, according to a study involving 718 adults published in the Journal of Health Psychology. Participants were exposed to 15-second video advertisements for highly processed foods and minimally processed foods, and then completed questionnaires about their beliefs and feelings. Unfortunately, investigators from the University of Michigan discovered that compared to the burger ad, a similar ad for salad does not appear to have the same emotional impact. Interestingly, the study found that adults who did not already hold strong beliefs about how foods affect their emotions (fewer symptoms of food addiction) had greater increases in the belief that they would feel better by eating these types of highly processed foods.
Research like this is sure to heighten calls for more regulation on ultraprocessed food ads. How long these beliefs endure when exposed to food advertising, and how they can impact the way someone eats is to be determined in future research.
See also: Food Images and Your Brain
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
