This research explores the impact of weight-management remedy marketing on healthy lifestyle behaviors. Three studies demonstrate that exposure to drug (but not supplement) marketing for weight management encourages unhealthy consumer behavior as a result of consumers' reliance on erroneous beliefs about health remedies. The authors explore the possible mitigating role of two dimensions of healthy literacy: nutrition knowledge and remedy knowledge. Whether measured or manipulated, the results show remedy knowledge to be more effective than nutrition knowledge at lessening the effect of weight-management drug marketing on unhealthy behavior. The authors close with a discussion of the theoretical and substantive implications of this research for consumer welfare.
AndrewsJ. Craig, BurtonScot, and KeesJeremy (2011), “Is Simpler Always Better? Consumer Evaluations of Front-of-Package Nutrition Symbols,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 30 (Fall), 175–90.
2.
AndrewsJ. Craig, NetemeyerRichard G., and BurtonScott (1998), “Consumer Generalization of Nutrient Content Claims in Advertising,”Journal of Marketing, 62 (October), 62–75.
3.
AndrewsJ. Craig, NetemeyerRichard G., and BurtonScott (2009), “The Nutrition Elite: Do Only the Highest Levels of Caloric Knowledge, Obesity Knowledge, and Motivation Matter in Processing Nutrition Ad Claims and Disclosures?”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28 (Spring), 41–55.
4.
BoltonLisa E., BloomPaul N., and CohenJoel B. (2011), “Using Loan Plus Lender Literacy Information to Combat One-Sided Marketing of Debt Consolidation Loans,”Journal of Marketing Research, 48 (Special Issue), S51–S59.
5.
BoltonLisa E., CohenJoel B., and BloomPaul N. (2006), “Does Marketing Products as Remedies Create ‘Get Out of Jail Free Cards’?”Journal of Consumer Research, 33 (1), 71–81.
6.
BoltonLisa E., ReedAmericus M., VolppKevin G., and ArmstrongKatrina (2008), “How Does Drug and Supplement Marketing Affect a Healthy Lifestyle?”Journal of Consumer Research, 34 (5), 713–26.
7.
BrownellKelly D. and HorgenKatherine Battle (2003), Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry, America's Obesity Crisis, and What We Can Do About It. New York: McGraw-Hill.
8.
BurtonScot, GarretsonJudith A., and VelliquetteAnne M. (1999), “Implications of Accurate Usage of Nutrition Facts Panel Information for Food Product Evaluations and Purchase Intentions,”Journal of the Academy of Management Science, 27 (4), 470–80.
9.
CalkinsLindsay Noble and ZlatoperThomas J. (2001), “The Effects of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws on Motor Vehicle Fatalities in the United States,”Social Science Quarterly, 82 (4), 716–32.
10.
ChandonPierre and WansinkBrian (2007), “Is Obesity Caused by Calorie Underestimation? A Psychophysical Model of Meal Size Estimation,”Journal of Marketing Research, 44 (February), 84–99.
11.
ChernevAlexander (2011), “The Dieter's Paradox,”Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21 (2), 178–83.
12.
ChristensenRobin, KristensenPernelle Kruse, BartelsElse Marie, BliddalHenning, and AstrupArne (2007), “Efficacy and Safety of the Weight-Loss Drug Rimonabant: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Trials,”The Lancet, 370 (9600), 1706–1713.
13.
ClelandRichard L., GrossWalter C., KossLaura D., DaynardMatthew, and MuoioKaren M. (2002), “Weight-Loss Advertising: An Analysis of Current Trends,”Federal Trade Commission Staff Report, (September), (accessed January 26, 2015), [available at http://www.ftc.gov/reports/weight-loss-advertisingan-analysis-current-trends].
14.
CoxAnthony D., CoxDena, and MantelSusan Powell (2010), “Consumer Response to Drug Risk Information: The Role of Positive Affect,”Journal of Marketing, 74 (July), 31–44.
15.
FernandesDaniel, LynchJohn G.Jr., and NetemeyerRichard G. (2014), “Financial Literacy, Financial Education, and Downstream Financial Behaviors,”Management Science, 60 (8), 1861–83.
16.
FishbachAyelet and DharRavi (2005), “Goals as Excuses or Guides: The Liberating Effect of Perceived Goal Progress on Choice,”Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (3), 370–77.
17.
FroschDominick L., KimmelStephen, and VolppKevin G. (2008), “What Role Do Lay Beliefs About Hypertension Etiology Play in Perceptions of Medication Effectiveness?”Health Psychology, 27 (3), 320–26.
18.
GrunertKlaus G., BoltonLisa E., and RaatsMonique M. (2011), “Processing and Acting upon Nutrition Labeling on Food: The State of Knowledge and New Directions for Transformative Consumer Research,” in Transformative Consumer Research for Personal and Collective Well Being: Reviews and Frontiers, MickDavid, PettigrewSimone, PechmannConnie, and OzanneJulie, eds. New York: Routledge, 333–52.
19.
HarnackLisa, BlockGladys, SubarAmy, LaneSylvia, and BrandRichard (1997), “Association of Cancer Prevention-Related Nutrition Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitudes to Cancer Prevention Dietary Behavior,”Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 97 (9), 957–65.
20.
HayesAndrew F. (2012), “PROCESS: A Versatile Computational Tool for Observed Variable Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Modeling,”white paper, (accessed July 14, 2012), [available at http://www.personal.psu.edu/jxb14/M554/specreg/process2012.pdf].
21.
HeiniAdrian F. and WeinsierRoland L. (1997), “Divergent Trends in Obesity and Fat Intake Patterns: The American Paradox,”American Journal of Medicine, 102 (3), 259–64.
22.
HowlettElizabeth, BurtonScot, and KozupJohn (2008), “How Modification of the Nutrition Facts Panel Influences Consumers at Risk for Heart Disease: The Case of Trans Fat,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 27 (Spring), 83–97.
23.
Institute of Medicine (2004), Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
24.
JormAnthony F. (2000), “Mental Health Literacy: Public Knowledge and Beliefs About Mental Disorders,”British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 396–401.
25.
KnappThomas R. (2007), “Bimodality Revisited,”Journal of Applied Statistical Methods, 6 (1), 8–20.
26.
KundaZiva (1990), “The Case for Motivated Reasoning,”Psychological Bulletin, 108 (3), 480–98.
27.
ManberRachel, ChambersAndrea S., HittSabrina K., McGahueyCynthia, DelgadoPedro, and AllenJohn J.B. (2003), “Patients' Perception of Their Depressive Illness,”Journal of Psychiatric Research, 37 (4), 335–43.
28.
Marketdata Enterprises (2013), The U.S. Weight Loss & Diet Control Market, 12th ed. Tampa, FL: Marketdata Enterprises.
29.
McCullaghPeter and NelderJohn A. (1989), Generalized Linear Models. London: Chapman and Hall.
30.
McFerranBrent and MukhopadhyayAnirban (2013), “Lay Theories of Obesity Predict Actual Body Mass,”Psychological Science, 24 (8), 1428–36.
31.
MoormanChristine (1990), “The Effects of Stimulus and Consumer Characteristics on the Utilization of Nutrition Information,”Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (3), 362–74.
32.
MoormanChristine (1996), “A Quasi Experiment to Assess the Consumer and Informational Determinants of Nutrition Information Processing Activities: The Case of the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 15 (Spring), 28–44.
33.
NaylorRebecca Walker, DromsCourtney, and HawsKelly (2009), “Eating with a Purpose: Consumer Response to Functional Food Health Claims,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 28 (Fall), 221–33.
34.
NestleMarion (2003), “Increasing Portion Sizes in American Diets: More Calories, More Obesity,”Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 103 (1), 39–40.
35.
O'HaraRobert B. and KotzeD. Johan (2010), “Do Not Log-Transform Count Data,”Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1 (2), 118–22.
36.
PopayJennie and WilliamsGareth (1996), “Public Health Research and Lay Knowledge,”Social Science and Medicine, 42 (5), 759–68.
37.
RaghunathanRajagopal, NaylorRebecca W., and HoyerWayne D. (2006), “The Unhealthy = Tasty Intuition and Its Effects on Taste Inferences, Enjoyment, and Choice of Food Products,”Journal of Marketing, 70 (October), 170–84.
38.
RichensJohn, ImrieJohn, and CopasAndrew (2000), “Condoms and Seat Belts: The Parallels and Lessons,”The Lancet, 355 (9201), 400–403.
39.
RozinPaul, SprancaMark, KriegerZeev, NeuhausRuth, SurilloDarlene, SwerdlinAmy, et al. (2004), “Preference for Natural: Instrumental and Ideational/Moral Motivations, and the Contrast Between Foods and Medicines,”Appetite, 43 (2), 147–54.
40.
RussoJ. Edward, StaelinRichard, NolanCatherine A., RussellGary J., and MetcalfBarbara L. (1986), “Nutrition Information in the Supermarket,”Journal of Consumer Research, 13 (1), 48–70.
41.
ScottMaura L., NowlisStephen M., MandelNaomi, and MoralesAndrea C. (2008), “The Effects of Reduced Food Size and Package Size on the Consumption Behavior of Restrained and Unrestrained Eaters,”Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (3), 391–405.
42.
SeidersKathleen and PettyRoss D. (2004), “Obesity and the Role of Food Marketing: A Policy Analysis of Issues and Remedies,”Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 23 (Fall), 153–69.
43.
SimmonsJoseph P., NelsonLeif D., and SimonsohnUri (2011), “False-Positive Psychology: Undisclosed Flexibility in Data Collection and Analysis Allows Presenting Anything as Significant,”Psychological Science, 22 (11), 1359–66.
44.
SniehottaFalko F., ScholzUrte, and SchwarzerRalf (2005), “Bridging the Intention–Behaviour Gap: Planning, Self-Efficacy, and Action Control in the Adoption and Maintenance of Physical Exercise,”Psychology and Health, 20 (2), 143–60.
45.
SudoreRebecca L., MehtaKala M., SimonsickEleanor M., HarrisTamara B., NewmanAnne B., SatterfieldSuzanne, et al. (2006), “Limited Literacy in Older People and Disparities in Health and Healthcare Access,”Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 54 (5), 770–76.
46.
WaddenThomas A., BrownellKelly D., and FosterGary D. (2002), “Obesity: Responding to the Global Epidemic,”Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70 (3), 510–25.
47.
WangWenbo, KehHean Tat, and BoltonLisa E. (2009), “Lay Theories of Medicine and a Healthy Lifestyle,”Journal of Consumer Research, 37 (1), 80–97.
48.
WansinkBrian and ChandonPierre (2006), “Can ‘Low-Fat’ Nutrition Labels Lead to Obesity?”Journal of Marketing Research, 43 (November), 605–617.
49.
WansinkBrian and CheneyMatthew M. (2005), “Leveraging FDA Health Claims,”Journal of Consumer Affairs, 39 (2), 386–98.
50.
WansinkBrian, WestgrenRandall E., and CheneyMathew M. (2005), “Hierarchy of Nutritional Knowledge that Relates to the Consumption of a Functional Food,”Nutrition, 21 (2), 264–68.
51.
WardleJ., ParmenterK., and WallerJ. (2000), “Nutrition Knowledge and Food Intake,”Appetite, 34 (3), 269–75.
52.
WeinsteinNeil D. (1993), “Testing Four Competing Theories of Health-Protective Behavior,”Health Psychology, 12 (4), 324–33.
53.
WilcoxKeith, VallenBeth, BlockLauren G., and FitzsimonsGavan J. (2009), “Vicarious Goal Fulfillment: How the Mere Presence of a Healthy Option Leads to a Very Unhealthy Decision,”Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (3), 380–93.
54.
WolfMichael S., GazmararianJulie A., and BakerDavid W. (2005), “Health Literacy and Functional Health Status Among Older Adults,”Archives of Internal Medicine, 165 (17), 1946–52.
55.
WorsleyAnthony (2002), “Nutrition Knowledge and Food Consumption: Can Nutrition Knowledge Change Food Behaviour?”Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 11 (Supplement 3), S579–S585.
56.
ZhaoXinshu, LynchJohn G.Jr., and ChenQimei (2010), “Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and Truths About Mediation Analysis,”Journal of Consumer Research, 37 (2), 197–206.
