Enhanced Measurement of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Marketing to Young Immigrant Children in Grocery Store Environments

Hadis Dastgerdizad; Rachael D Dombrowski; Noel Kulik; Kathryn A G Knoff; Bree Bode; James Mallare; Dariush K Elyaderani; Ravneet Kaur

doi:10.3390/nu15132972

Enhanced Measurement of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Marketing to Young Immigrant Children in Grocery Store Environments

Nutrients. 2023 Jun 30;15(13):2972. doi: 10.3390/nu15132972.

Authors

Hadis Dastgerdizad¹, Rachael D Dombrowski², Noel Kulik³, Kathryn A G Knoff⁴, Bree Bode⁵, James Mallare⁶, Dariush K Elyaderani⁷, Ravneet Kaur⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Bluffton, SC 29909, USA.
² College of Education, Health and Human Services, California State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096, USA.
³ Center for Health and Community Impact, Division of Kinesiology, Health & Sport Studies, College of Education, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁴ Office of Policy Support, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.
⁵ Michigan Fitness Foundation, Lansing, MI 48314, USA.
⁶ Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
⁷ Chapman School of Business, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
⁸ Division of Health Research and Evaluation, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Rockford, IL 61107, USA.

Abstract

The marketing of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) within grocers is an obesogenic factor that negatively impacts children's nutritional behavior, specifically for people from racial and ethnic minority groups, such as immigrants. We aimed to develop and employ a methodology that more precisely assesses the availability, price, and promotion of SSBs to young immigrant children within independently owned grocery stores. A case comparison design was used to explore the differences in the grocery store landscape of SSB marketing by conducting an enhanced Nutrition Environment Measures Survey-SSB (NEMS-SSB) within 30 grocery stores in the Hispanic and Latino enclaves in Southwest Detroit, in the Arab and Chaldean enclaves in North-central Detroit, and in Warren, Hamtramck, and Dearborn, in comparison with 48 grocers in Metro Detroit. Unsweetened, plant-based, and organic toddler and infant beverages, as well as questions about marketing, were added to the original NEMS to capture the promotion tactics used in marketing SSBs. NEMS-SSB scores revealed that, in the immigrant enclaves, there was a significantly higher availability of SSBs in grocery stores (-2.38), and they had lower prices than those in the comparison group (-0.052). Unsweetened, plant-based, and organic beverages were unavailable in 97% of all participating grocery stores across both groups. Signage featuring cartoon characters was the most frequent in-store SSB marketing tactic across both groups. Widespread SSB marketing toward toddlers within the grocery stores in immigrant enclaves could be linked with the higher early childhood obesity prevalence among the immigrant population. Our findings can assist local and national organizations in developing and implementing healthy eating interventions. This study must be repeated in other immigrant enclaves across states to provide comparable results.

Keywords: early childhood obesity; immigrant enclaves; independently owned grocery stores; nutrition environment measures survey; obesogenic environment; sugar-sweetened beverage marketing.

MeSH terms

Beverages
Child
Child, Preschool
Ethnicity
Humans
Marketing
Minority Groups
Pediatric Obesity* / etiology
Pediatric Obesity* / prevention & control
Sugar-Sweetened Beverages*
Supermarkets

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding