Start Date: February 2012

ID #: 69802

Principal Investigator: Amy Jordan, PhD

Organization: University of Pennsylvania

Funding Round: Rapid-Response Round 4

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Local health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now developing media campaigns to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption, which has been found to play a significant role in childhood obesity. The aim of this research project is to test the efficacy of existing beverage-related media messages for youth and parents in order to understand the message features that influence beverage choices and resonate with audiences who are at risk for obesity. This study will be conducted in two stages: 1) a content analysis of the available anti-SSB public service advertisements (PSAs) to determine what types of messages are being used to discourage sugary drink consumption, and 2) a subset of PSAs exemplifying distinct message features will be selected and tested with an online panel of 800 adolescents ages 13 to 17 and 800 parents of children ages 3 to 17 to evaluate how the message features interact with audience characteristics and how the ads predict intention to reduce SSB consumption. Findings of the study will allow health departments to effectively tailor their sugary-beverage messages for the youth and adults who are most at risk for obesity in their communities.

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