Source: TheDrum
Sports and active lifestyle are at the heart of healthy living, yet sponsorships ins sport are most commonly used to market unhealthy food and non-alcoholic beverages, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.
The report studied ads in sports in the US and came to the conclusion that 76% of foods promoted in such sponsorships actually had unhealthy nutrition scores, and 52.4% of non-alcoholic beverages were sugar-sweetened.
The National Football League (NFL) had the most food and/or non-alcoholic beverage sponsors, followed by the National Hockey League (NHL) and Little League. The different brands associated with these leagues include PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Wendy’s to name a few.
“The promotion of unhealthy foods and beverages during sports is especially concerning because study authors have shown that up to 76% of children surveyed can recall at least one food company that sponsors a sports organization. In addition, the authors of one study conducted in Australia estimated that 80% of children play organized sports, and up to 75% of their youth sports clubs maintain food sponsorships,” researchers warned.
The American Beverage Association, which represents the beverage industry, responded to the study in a written statement to CNN: “As the authors of this study admit, the target audience for professional sports are not children but adults. Nonetheless, America’s beverage companies have taken actions to ensure parents have the support they want, including voluntarily implementing international advertising guidelines to not market to children under the age of 12, voluntarily pulling full-calorie beverages from K-12 schools and offering parents fact-based information and the wide variety of beverage options with and without sugar they need to make the right choices for themselves and their families.”
