Candy with a chance of meatballs: Movie food and drinks fail the health test

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Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Case study: A study involving observations of a single patient or group of patients.

Popular US movies depict an unhealthy diet, with the majority showing unhealthy foods and drinks, according to US research. The study looked at the 250 top-grossing US films between 1994 and 2018 and found that 73 per cent would be unhealthy enough to fail legal healthy advertising standards in the UK for foods, as would 90 per cent of movies for beverages. Only 12 per cent of foods and beverages were visibly branded, which the authors say suggests problem extends beyond advertisements and branded product placements and reflects a broader social acceptance of unhealthy foods.

Journal/conference: JAMA Internal Medicine

Link to research (DOI): 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5421

Organisation/s: Stanford University, USA

Funder: This study was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Media release

From: JAMA

Nutritional Quality of Foods, Beverages in Movies

JAMA Internal Medicine

What The Study Did: The nutritional quality of foods and beverages depicted in 250 top-grossing movies in the United States from 1994 to 2018 was compared with dietary recommendations in this study.

Authors: Bradley P. Turnwald, Ph.D., of Stanford University in Stanford, California, is the corresponding author.

(doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.5421)

Editor’s Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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