To evaluate the efficacy of obesity prevention campaigns targeting adolescents, a controlled experiment with 797 underprivileged high and middle school students was conducted. Participants were exposed to different prevention messages and their eating behavior (choice of a snack) and intentions to monitor food intake were measured. Results demonstrate that obesity prevention advertisements using social risks lead to a healthier food choice in comparison with advertisements using the health risk. The efficacy of the message regulatory orientation (prevention vs. promotion) to change intentions to monitor food intake varies according to the type of argument used (social vs. health): The health argument is more effective when it highlights the risks of having an unbalanced diet than when it highlights the benefits of a balanced diet. These results question the efficacy of current prevention campaign strategies.
AakerJ.L.LeeA.Y. (2001), “I” seek pleasure and “we” avoid pains: The role of self-regulatory goals in information processing and persuasion, Journal of Consumer Research, 28, 1, 33–49.
2.
AjzenI. (2001), Nature and operation of attitudes, Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1, 27–58.
3.
AjzenI. (2002), Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 4, 665–683.
4.
AlbarracinD.JohnsonB.T.FishbeinM.MuellerleileP.A. (2001), Theories of reasoned action and planned behavior as models of condom use: A meta-analysis, Psychological Bulletin, 127, 1, 142–161.
5.
AndreasenA. (1995), Marketing social change: Changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
6.
AndreasenA. (2006), Social marketing in the 21st century, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
7.
ApollonioD.E.MaloneR.E. (2009), Turning negative into positive: Public health mass media campaigns and negative advertising, Health Education Research, 24, 3, 483–495.
8.
BanduraA. (1977), Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change, Psychological Review, 84, 2, 191–215.
9.
BanduraA. (1983), Psychological mechanisms of aggression, in GeenR.G.DonnersteinE.I. (eds.), Aggression: Theoretical and empirical reviews, New York, NY, Academic Press.
10.
BienerL.MingJ.GilpinE.AlbersA. (2004), The impact of emotional tone, message, and broadcast parameters in youth anti-smoking advertisements, Journal of Health Communication, 9, 3, 259–274.
11.
BlockL.G.KellerP.A. (1995), When to accentuate the negative: The effects of perceived efficacy and message framing on intentions to perform a health-related behavior, Journal of Marketing Research, 32, 2, 192–203.
12.
Boesen-MarianiS.WerleC.Gavard-PerretM.L.VelleraC. (2008), Preventing youth obesity: Effective means of promotion, in AcevedoC.R.HernandezJ.M.C.LowreyT.M. (eds.), Latin American Advances in Consumer Research, 2, Association for Consumer Research, 6–6.
13.
Boesen-MarianiS.GomezP.Gavard-PerretM.L. (2010), L'orientation régulatrice: Un concept prometteur en marketing, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 25, 1, 87–106.
14.
BoggioV. (2011), Enfant gros et éducation, Actes des 10es Ateliers de nutrition de l'Institut Pasteur de Lille, 29 November 2011, Lille.
BrehmJ.W. (1966), A theory of psychological reactance, New York, Academic Press.
17.
BrehmS.S.BrehmJ.W. (1981), Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control, New York, Academic Press.
18.
CesarioJ.GrantH.HigginsE.T. (2004), Regulatory fit and persuasion: Transfer from “feeling right”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 3, 388–404.
19.
CharryK.PecheuxC. (2011), Enfants et promotion de l'alimentation saine: étude de l'efficacité de l'utilisation de menaces en publicité, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 26, 2, 3–28.
20.
CohenA.R. (1962), An experiment on small rewards for discrepant compliance and attitude change, in BrehmJ.W.CohenA.R. (eds.), Explorations in cognitive dissonance, New York, NY, Wiley, 75–77.
21.
CornelisE.AdamsL.CaubergheV. (2012), The effectiveness of regulatory (in)congruent ads: The moderating role of an ad's rational versus emotional tone, International Journal of Advertising, 31, 2, 397–420.
22.
DerbaixC.LeheutE. (2008), Adolescents: Implication envers les produits et attitude envers les marques, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 23, 2, 37–66.
23.
DiClementeC.C.ProchaskaJ.O. (1982), Self-change and therapy change of smoking behavior: A comparison of processes change in cessation and maintenance, Addictive Behaviors, 7, 2, 133–142.
24.
DiClementeC.C.ProchaskaJ.O. (1985), Processes and stages of change: Coping and competence in smoking behavior change, in ShiffmanS.WillsT.A. (eds.), Coping and substance abuse, New York, NY, Academic, 319–344.
25.
DREES, “L'État de santé de la population en France, Rapport 2009–2010” (DREES), study published in 2010.
26.
DuffyS.BurtonD. (2000), Cartoon characters as tobacco warning labels, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 154, 12, 1230–1236.
27.
Expertise Collective INSERM, “Obésité: Dépistage et prévention chez l'enfant” (INSERM), étude publiée en 2000.
28.
Expertise Collective INSERM, “Santé des enfants et des adolescents” (INSERM), étude publiée en 2003.
29.
EzanP. (2004), De l'objet de collection à l'objet social: Impact des pratiques de consommation des enfants et des stratégies marketing dans l'installation d'une mode, Thèse de doctorat en sciences de gestion, Université de Caen-Basse Normandie, 2 December.
30.
FishbeinM.AjzenI. (1975), Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley.
31.
Fleck-DousteyssierN. (2006), Effet du parrainage sur les réponses cognitives et affectives du consommateur envers la marque: Le rôle de la congruence, Thèse de doctorat en sciences de gestion, Université Paris-Dauphine de Paris.
32.
FleckN.MailleV. (2010), Trente ans de travaux contradictoires sur l'influence de la congruence perçue par le consommateur: Synthèse, limites et voies de recherche, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 25, 4, 69–92.
33.
FloydD.L.Prentice-DunnS.RogersR.W. (2000), A meta-analysis of research on protection motivation theory, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 2, 407–429.
34.
FlynnB.S.WordenJ.K.Secker-WalkerR.H.PirieP.L.BadgerG.J.CarpenterJ.H.GellerB.M. (1994), Mass media and school interventions for cigarette smoking prevention: Effects 2 years after completion, American Journal of Public Health, 84, 7, 1148–1150.
35.
Fosse-GomezM.H. (1991), L'adolescent dans la prise de décision économique de la famille, Recherches et Applications en Marketing, 6, 4, 100–118.
36.
FoxR.J.KrugmanD.M.FletcherJ.E.FischerP.M. (1998), Adolescents' attention to beer and cigarette print ads and associated product warnings, Journal of Advertising, 27, 3, 57–68.
37.
FriedmanL.S.LichtensteinE.BiglanA. (1985), Smoking onset, among teens: An empirical analysis of initial situations, Addictive Behaviors, 10, 1, 1–13.
38.
Gallopel-MorvanK. (2006), L'utilisation de la peur dans un contexte de marketing social: état de l'art, limites et voies de recherche, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 21, 4, 41–60.
39.
GornG.J.GoldbergM.E. (1980), Children's responses to repetitive television commercials, Journal of Consumer Research, 6, 4, 421–424.
40.
GuoS.S.WuW.ChumleaW.C.RocheA.F. (2002), Predicting overweight and obesity in adulthood from body mass index values in childhood and adolescence, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 76, 3, 653–658.
41.
HammondD. (2005), Young adults and smoking behavior: Beyond youth prevention, Tobacco Control, 14, 3, 181–185.
42.
HastingsG.MacFadyenL. (2002), The limitations of fear messages, Tobacco Control, 11, 1, 73–75.
43.
HawsK.L.DholakiaU.M.BeardenW.O. (2010), An assessment of chronic regulatory focus measures, Journal of Marketing Research, 47, 5, 967–982.
44.
HigginsE.T. (1997), Beyond pleasure and pain, American Psychologist, 52, 12, 1280–1300.
45.
HigginsE.T. (2000), Making a good decision: Value from fit, American Psychologist, 55, 11, 1217–1230.
46.
HoR. (1998), The intention to give up smoking: Disease versus social dimensions, Journal of Social Psychology, 138, 3, 368–380.
47.
HoeckJ.NewcombeR.WalkerS. (2011), Promoting youth smokefree behavior: An evaluation of a social norms campaign, 58–64.
48.
INPES, “Programme National Nutrition Santé PNNS 2001–2005” (INPES/Ministère de l'Emploi et de la Solidarité), published in 2001.
49.
INPES, “Deuxième Programme National Nutrition Santé: Actions et Mesures” (INPES/Ministère de la Santé et des Solidarités), published in 2006.
50.
INPES, “Baromètre Santé Nutrition 2008” (INPES), published in 2009.
51.
INSERM/TNS-Sofres/Roche, “Obépi: Enquête épidémiologique nationale sur le surpoids et l'obésité” (INSERM/TNS-SOFRES/ROCHE), published in 2009.
52.
KellerM.B. (2006), Prevalence and impact of comorbid anxiety and bipolar disorder, The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67, 1, 5–7.
53.
KimY.J. (2006), Journal of Advertising, 35, 1, 143–151.
54.
KirkR.E. (1995), Experimental design: Procedures for the behavioral sciences, Grove, CA, Brooks/Cole.
55.
KobusK. (2003), Peers and adolescent smoking, Addiction, 98, 1, 37–55.
56.
KotlerP.ZaltmanG. (1971), Social marketing: An approach to planned social change, The Journal of Marketing, 35, 3, 3–12.
57.
KotlerP.RobertoN.LeeN. (2002), Social marketing: Improving the quality of life, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications.
58.
LarsonN.I.Neumark-SztainerD.HannanP.J.StoryM. (2007), Family meals during adolescence are associated with higher diet quality and healthful meal patterns during young adulthood, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 107, 9, 1502–1510.
59.
LeeA.Y.AakerJ.L. (2004), Bringing the frame into focus: The influence of regulatory fit on processing fluency and persuasion, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 2, 205–218.
60.
LobsteinT.DibbS. (2005), Evidence of a possible link between obesogenic food advertising and child overweight, Obesity Reviews, 6, 3, 203–208.
61.
LockwoodP.JordanC.H.KundaZ. (2002), Motivation by positive or negative role models: Regulatory focus determines who will best inspire us, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 4, 854–864.
62.
MaheswaranD.Meyers-LevyJ. (1990), The influence of message framing and issue involvement, Journal of Marketing Research, 27, 3, 361–367.
63.
MenonG.RaghubirP. (2003), Ease-of-retrieval as an automatic input in judgments: A mere-accessibility framework?, Journal of Consumer Research, 30, 2, 230–243.
64.
Meyers-LevyJ.MaheswaranD. (2004), Exploring message framing outcomes when systematic, heuristic, or both types of processing occur, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14, 1, 159–167.
65.
PalmgreenP.DonohewL.LorchE.P.RogusM.HelmD.GrantN. (1991), Sensation seeking, message sensation value, and drug use as mediators of PSA effectiveness, Health Communication, 3, 4, 217–227.
66.
PampelF.C. (2000), Logistic regression: A primer, Sage University Papers Series on Quantitative Applications in Social Sciences, 07–132, Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
67.
PechmannC.KnightS. J. (2002), An experimental investigation of the joint effects of advertising and peers on adolescents' beliefs and intentions about cigarette consumption, Journal of Consumer Research, 29, 1, 5–19.
68.
PechmannC.LevineL.LoughlinS.LeslieF. (2005), Impulsive and self-conscious: Adolescents' vulnerability to advertising, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 24, 2, 202–221.
69.
PechmannC.RatneshwarS. (1994), The effects of antismoking and cigarette advertising on young adolescents' perceptions of peers, Journal of Consumer Research, 21, 2, 236.
70.
PechmannC.ZhaoG.GoldbergM.E.ReiblingE.T. (2003), What to convey in antismoking advertisements for adolescents: The use of protection motivation theory to identify effective message themes, Journal of Marketing, 67, 2, 1–18.
71.
PhamM.T.AvnetT. (2004), Ideals and oughts and the reliance on affect versus substance in persuasion, Journal of Consumer Research, 30, 4, 503–518.
72.
PiagetJ. (1937), La naissance de l'intelligence chez l'enfant, Neuchâtel, Delachaux & Niestlé.
73.
PiagetJ. (1969), Psychologie et pédagogie, Paris, Denoël.
74.
ProchaskaJ.O.DiClementeC.C. (1982), Transtheoretical therapy: Toward a more integrative model of change, Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 19, 3, 276–288.
75.
ProchaskaJ.O.DiClementeC.C. (1983), Stages and processes of self-change smoking: Toward an integrative model of change, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 3, 390–395.
PuhlR.BrownellK.D. (2003), Psychosocial origins of obesity stigma: Toward changing a powerful and pervasive bias, Obesity Reviews, 4, 213–227.
78.
ReynaV.F.FarleyF. (2006), Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 1, 1–44.
79.
RogersR.W. (1975), A protection motivation theory of fear appeals and attitude change, Journal of Psychology, 91, 1, 93–114.
80.
RogersR.W. (1983), Cognitive and physiological processes in fear appeals and attitude change: A revised theory of protection motivation, in CacioppoJ. T.PettyR. E. (coord.), Social psychophysiology: A source book, New York, Guilford Press, 153–176.
81.
RosenstockI.M. (1974), Historical origins of the health belief model, Health Education Monographs, 2, 4, 328–335.
82.
RothmanA.J.HertelA.W.BaldwinA.S.BartelsR. (2008), Integrating theory and practice: Understanding the determinants of health behavior change, in ShahJ.GardnerW. (eds.), Handbook of motivation science, New York, Guilford, 494–507.
83.
RothmanA.J.SaloveyP. (1997), Shaping perception to motivate healthy behavior: The role of message framing, Psychology Bulletin, 121, 1, 3–19.
84.
RothmanA.J.SaloveyP.AntoneC.KeoughK.MartinC.D. (1993), The influence of message framing on intentions to perform health behaviors, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 29, 5, 408–433.
85.
SabriO.ManceauD.PrasB. (2010), Le tabou, un concept peu exploré en marketing, Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 25, 1, 59–86.
86.
SchoenbachlerD.D.WhittlerT.E. (1996), Adolescent processing of social and physical threat communications, Journal of Advertising, 25, 4, 37–54.
87.
SteinbergL.DahlR.KeatingD.KupferD.MastenA.PineD. (2006), Psychopathology in adolescence: Integrating an active neuroscience with the study of context, in CicchettiD.CohenD. (eds.), Developmental psychopathology, developmental neuroscience, 2, New York, Wiley, 710–741.
88.
SteinbergL.GrahamS.O'BrienL.WoolardJ.CauffmanE.BanichM. (2009), Age differences in future orientation and delay discounting, Child Development, 80, 1, 28–44.
89.
SteinbergL.ScottE.S. (2003), Less guilty by reason of adolescence: Developmental immaturity, diminished responsibility, and the juvenile death penalty, American Psychologist, 58, 12, 1009–1018.
90.
SummervilleA.RoeseN.J. (2008), Self-report measures of individual differences in regulatory focus: A cautionary note, Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1, 247–254.
91.
TabachnickB.G.FidellL.S. (2007), Experimental designs using anova, Belmont, Duxbury – Thomson.
92.
TajfelH.TurnerJ. (1979), An integrative theory of intergroup conflict, in AustinW.WorchelS. (eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations, Brooks-Cole, Monterey, 94–109.
93.
TibereL. (2007), Obésité des adolescents, entre désamour et acceptation de soi, Soins, Pédiatrie, Puériculture, 239, 23–26.
94.
van KleefE.van TrijpH.LuningP. (2005), Functional foods: Health claim-food product compatibility and the impact of health claim framing on consumer evaluation, Appetite, 44, 3, 299–308.
95.
WerleC.Boesen-MarianiS.Gavard-PerretM.L.BerthaudS. (2011), Social risk efficacy in preventing youth obesity, in DahlD.W.JoharG.V.van OsselaerS.M.J. (eds.), Advances in Consumer Research, 38, Association for Consumer Research.
96.
WhitakerR.C.WrightJ.A.PepeM.S.SeidelK.D.DietzW.H. (1997), Predicting obesity in young adulthood from childhood and parental obesity, The New England Journal of Medicine, 337, 13, 869–873.
97.
WitteK. (1998), Fear as motivator, fear as inhibitor: Using the extended parallel process model to explain fear appeal successes and failures, in AndersenP.A.GuerreroL.K. (eds.), Handbook of communication and emotion: Research, theory, applications, and contexts, San Diego, CA, Academic Press, 423–450.
98.
YiS.BaumgartnerH. (2009), Regulatory focus and message framing: A test of three accounts, Motivation and Emotion, 33, 4, 435–443.
99.
ZhaoG.PechmannC. (2007), The impact of regulatory focus on adolescents' response to antismoking advertising campaigns, Journal of Marketing Research, 44, 4, 671–687.
100.
ZhuR.J.Meyers-LevyJ. (2007), Exploring the cognitive mechanism that underlies regulatory focus effects, Journal of Consumer Research, 34, 1, 89–96.
