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Advertising for food and dietary supplements in the print media in South Africa
Author(s) -
Temple Norman Joseph,
Mchiza Zandile,
Abrahams Zulfa,
Steyn Nelia P
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.26.1_supplement.654.2
Subject(s) - food science , advertising , health benefits , medicine , food products , environmental health , traditional medicine , business , biology
Objective To survey advertisements for food and beverages, slimming products, and dietary supplements in South African magazines. Methods We examined the 5 most popular magazines over one year. They are in 3 major languages (English, Afrikaans, and Xhosa). Results We recorded 959 advertisements; 776 (80.9%) were for food and beverages, 86 (9.0%) for slimming products, and 97 (10.1%) for dietary supplements. The most common advertisements for food and beverages were for restaurants (n=126), supermarkets (119), alcoholic beverages (79), cereal products (59), confectionery items (59), vegetables (40), and fruit or fruit juices (29). Thirty‐nine of them (4.1%) carried health claims; these were most common for dairy products (14), followed by non‐alcoholic beverages (7), and meat and poultry (6). The most commonly mentioned health benefits were for healthy growth (18), performance claims (13), therapeutic claims (9), and non‐serious risk reduction claims (6), and for and energy (6). The majority of health claims referred to iron (17), B vitamins (12), vitamins and minerals (11), essential fatty acids (11), and calcium (9). Conclusion A fraction of advertisements were for healthy products (such as vegetables, fruit, and low‐fat milk) but the large majority were for unhealthy foods. Misleading advertisements for slimming products and dietary supplements are becoming common.