The impact of country and exposure to sugary drink marketing on youth brand preference and recall

Abstract

Abstract Background Consumption of sugary drinks (SD) among children and adolescents is a prevalent public health issue both within Canada and worldwide. This problem is exacerbated by the powerful marketing of such beverages to youth, which is known to influence a wide range of dietary behaviours. Methods A secondary analysis of the International Food Policy Survey Youth Wave 2019 was conducted to assess the impact of self-reported exposure to SD marketing within the past 30 days or SD brand advertisements on youth brand preference and brand recall overall, by country, and by youth age group. Ordinal, multinomial, and binary logistic regression were used as appropriate to examine these associations. Results Youth brand preference and recall was positively associated with self-reported exposure to general and brand-specific SD marketing across all countries. No statistical interaction was observed between youth age and SD marketing overall or within countries. Soft drinks, sports drinks, and fruit juice brands were most commonly recalled by all youth. Conclusion Similar results were observed among children and adolescents within all countries. Global marketing policies should consider older children and adolescents to adequately protect and support child health.