Middle-class household food providers’ views and experiences of food marketing in Vietnam

Related Links
Author : Quynh TH Pham, Anthony Worsley
Keyword : Vietnam, food marketing, household food providers, nutrition transition, food advertising communication
DOI : 10.6133/apjcn.092015.45
Issue : Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 2016;25(4):863-870
PDF : Download

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Food marketing has been identified as a target for intervention in the prevention of childhood overweight and obesity within countries and globally, and promotion of healthy diets has been classi- fied as a key strategy to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases and health inequalities. The present study aims to investigate how Vietnamese middle-class household food providers are impacted by food advertis- ing communications, their views of food marketing and the ways they think the government can control food marketing to assist people to consume healthier diets. Methods and Study Design: 810 household food providers participated in the online survey. Frequency counts were calculated using IBM SPSS version 21. Results: Many respondents had been exposed to food marketing; 82.8% had seen food advertising in magazines at least once a month, 65.1% had received free food samples in public places, 68.0% had received food advertising information via email. Many household food providers appeared to support food marketing; 73.3% approved of nutrition edu- cation in schools or on television being provided by soft drink or fast food companies, 63.7% supported the mar- keting of infant formula milk. There were mixed views about what actions the government could implement to control food marketing; 88.2% supported clearer food content on food labels, 84.1% believed that children should learn how to purchase and cook foods at school. Conclusions: A substantial majority of Vietnamese middle-class household food providers appeared unaware of the adverse effects of food marketing. Education and policy lead- ership in food and nutrition are urgently required.

Copyright © APJCN. All rights reserved.