Posted on 06/08/2018 7:25:04 AM PDT by Rebelbase
Food companies have embraced a controversial tactic in their quest to sell more soda, a new study says: timing advertisements for sugary drinks to the days states distribute food stamp benefits.
On any given day, grocery shoppers are likely to see soda displays in stores, researchers found.
But they are two to four times as likely to come across them when food stamps go out.
The study, which relied on 2011 data from the New York State Department of Health and which will appear later this year in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is the latest to suggest there's more to America's nutrition gap than a lack of healthy choices or health education.
Low-income Americans drink far more soda than their wealthier neighbors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as food stamps, has recently come under fire for the amount federal benefits recipients spend on sugary beverages, with some critics calling on the federal government to ban soda purchases.
But this study demonstrates those trends are not entirely the fault of low-income shoppers, who are disproportionately bombarded by junk-food ads, said Alyssa Moran, the lead author of the paper and an assistant professor of health and social policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
"People will argue that individuals are ultimately responsible for their choices, but we know that the environment in which we make choices matters," Moran said. "This study is another example of industry targeting sugary beverage marketing toward lower income families."
(Excerpt) Read more at greensboro.com ...
In a related story; January and February seem to have the most ads for health clubs and diets. Researchers are demanding more grant money for studies of this aberration.
Therefore; we are NOT ‘free’ in America!
Studies have shown that you get MORE of what you subsidize.
There is grant money available for research into this phenomenon.
What IS it about Memorial Day that makes me want a new mattress?
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