Nutrition Professionals' Understanding Of School-Based Food Marketing

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Sept, 1999 by Jane Levine, Joan Dye Gussow

Children have money to spend, influence their families' food choices, and are the consumers of the future. For this reason, the food industry frequently markets items to schools. This may be done in various ways, including serving brand name foods in cafeterias, handing out food products and coupons during field trips, and advertising on textbook covers, magazines, radio, the Internet, and teaching materials. Students also collect food product labels that are redeemable for school equipment. It is imperative that nutritional professionals understand the sort of food messages that reach children while they are in school.

A recent study assessed nutrition professional's knowledge of and attitudes toward the food industry's educational and marketing programs in elementary schools. A 61-item questionnaire was designed and mailed to a systematic random sample of 350 members of the American Dietetic Association's School Nutrition Services dietetic practice group and to the 339 members of the Society for Nutrition Education's Division of Nutrition Education for Children. The response rate was 61%. All but three of the nutrition professionals surveyed knew about at least one of the following five marketing programs: National Dairy Council's "Food ... Your Choice" nutrition education materials, Campbell's "Labels for Education" label collection program, Beef Industry Council's "Lunch Power!" Guide to Healthy School Lunches, Dole's Supermarket "5 A Day" Tours, Pizza Hut's "Book It!" Reading incentive program, General Mills' "Breakfast Quest Challenge" computer program, Whittle's Big Picture wallboards with ads for candy, and Sampling's Halloween Bags containing candy and coupons. The National Dairy Council's program and the Campbell Soup program were the best known among the nutrition professionals. Most professionals learned about these programs during professional meetings.

Nearly all respondents agreed that environmental factors in schools encourage or discourage certain eating behaviors. Nutrition professionals as a whole felt that school-based marketing programs should be allowed, because they have the potential to benefit children, but the materials must be high-quality, and accurate nutritional information must be provided. Overall, the attitudes held toward the marketing programs depended on the nutritional value of the sponsor's products. Most respondents believed that the food industry should be used as an ally for nutrition professionals to reach school-aged children.

Jane Levine, Joan Dye Gussow, Nutrition professionals' knowledge of and attitudes toward the food industry's education and marketing programs in elementary schools, Journal of the American Dietetic Association 99(8): 973-975 (August 1999) [Correspondence: Jane Levine, EdD, Kids Can Made a Difference, PO Box 54, Kittery Point, ME 03905.]