Skip to main content
NUTRITION 2023 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Back

Topical Area: Community and Public Health Nutrition

Community and Public Health Nutrition (Poster Session)

(P24-134-23) Content Analysis of Food and Beverage Television Advertisements in Urban Accra, Ghana

Monday, July 24, 2023
12:45 PM – 1:45 PM ET
Location: Poster Board 537
Disclosure(s):
Marian N. Winters: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Morgan Boncyk, MPH: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Muskaan K. Makkar: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.


Objectives: As Ghana has experienced a nutrition transition, there has been a rapid rise in the consumption of unhealthy food and beverages and concurrently nutrition-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Advertisement exposure to unhealthy food normalizes mindless overeating. This study aimed to describe the foods and beverages promoted in advertisements in Accra, Ghana.

Methods: Content analysis of 486 hours of TV advertisements, recorded Feb-May 2020, were performed for food and beverage advertisements featuring one to five actors. Products promoted were categorized by nutritional content as healthy or unhealthy based on INFORMAS’ classification. Advertisements that promoted healthy and unhealthy foods were excluded from analysis. Grains include cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) include fruit juices, unhealthy dairy includes ice cream and desserts, and high fat/salt meals include fast food. 

Results: A third (33%, n=188) of 567 advertisements promoted healthy and two-thirds (67%, n=379) unhealthy food and beverages. Within healthy food and beverage advertisements, grains were most frequent (44%), followed by supplements (31%), and dairy (22%, n=41/567). Few healthy advertisements were for fruits and vegetables (5%), protein rich meats and alternatives (5%), baby food (9%), and water (6%). Within unhealthy products, SSBs were most frequent (35%), and followed by grains (21%), recipe additions (20%), and alcohol (15%). Few unhealthy advertisements were for dairy (9%), meat (1%), snacks (2%), and butter and condiments (1%). 

Conclusions: Advertisements promoted more unhealthy than healthy foods and beverages. Advertisements often promote foods and beverages high in sugar, salt, and fat contributing to nutrition-related NCDs. Advertising regulations are needed to reduce exposures to unhealthy food advertisements and to help reduce the development of NCDs.

Funding Sources: International Development Research Centre’s Food, Environment, and Health Programme; University of South Carolina