Background: Unhealthy food marketing in sports settings contradicts public health efforts to promote healthy eating. While there is much evidence regarding the impacts of food marketing on children, less is known about its direct effects on parents. Parents are important role models and gate-keepers for their children’s diets and activities, and (like children) are susceptible to influence by food marketing.
Aim: To explore parents’ responses to sponsorship of children’s sporting activities by (A) non-food brands (control), (B) unhealthy food brands, (C) healthier food brands, or (D) an obesity prevention public health campaign.
Methods: Using an online survey experimental design, 1,200 Australian parents of children aged 6 to 9 years will be randomly assigned to one of four sponsorship conditions (A-D). To control for potential product type and brand effects, participants will be further randomised within condition to one of three product categories (breakfast cereal, take-away food, or non-alcoholic beverage) and then one of two brands. Participants will be shown a short video and a promotional flyer for a fictional junior sports program, with sponsor content representing their assigned brand. Following exposure to the intervention, participants will be asked a series of questions assessing their brand awareness, brand attitudes, and preference for food sponsors’ products.
Results: Data collection for this study is in progress and results will be available for presentation at the conference. A combination of linear (for continuous variables), logistic (for binary variables), and Poisson (for count variables) regression analyses will be used to test for effects of sponsorship condition on each outcome measure.
Conclusion: This study will yield practical evidence on the utility of alternative, pro-health sport sponsorship options for children’s sporting activities that will be immediately useful for health promotion policy and practice.