Oregon Research Institute

Food Marketing Vulnerability and Increased Risk for Weight Gain in Adolescents

Researchers are studying whether adolescents (13-15 years old) are different in the way that their brains respond to food commercials, and are investigating potential causes of unhealthy eating habits and weight gain.

Details

High levels of food marketing have been implicated as an important contributor to obesity. Television remains the key avenue through which food marketing reaches adolescents. Adolescents see thousands of food commercials annually and most of them promote unhealthy foods. Yet, almost nothing is known about how food commercials impact the brain and for whom it increases risk for obesity. Early adolescence is a critical time to understand the impact of food commercials on eating behavior and future BMI, as this age group is a frequent target of food marketing and at-risk for future excess-weight gain. The purpose of Project Media is to determine whether adolescents (13-15 years old) are different in the way that their brains respond to food commercials, and to investigate potential causes of unhealthy eating habits and weight gain.

This is a subaward with the University of Michigan from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.