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A new study claims that social media sites, such as Facebook, giam dau khop tu nhien may contribute to marketing of unhealthy foods to adolescents and young adults.
Facebook screen shot
Researchers say social media sites, such as Facebook, may play a role in promoting junk food to adolescents and young adults.

The research team, including Becky Freeman, PhD, of the University of Sydney in Australia, publish their findings in the American Journal of Public Health.

Concerns have been raised about the marketing of junk food in the past, particularly when it is aimed toward children and adolescents.

In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for increased control on the marketing of foods that are high in sugars, salt and trans fats, calling promotion of these foods to children "disastrous."

And earlier this year, Medical News Today published a spotlight investigating whether junk food companies should be sponsoring major sporting events. In this, Thiago Hérick de Sá, of the Department of Nutrition at the University of São Paulo's School of Public Health in Brazil, said such sponsors represent a "direct attack" on global efforts to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods and drinks, adding:

"The basic aim of any company is to sell their products or services and to profit. The sponsorship of major sporting events [by fast-food and sugary drink companies] is part of the company's marketing strategy to achieve that aim, to encourage people, including children, to consume more of their products."

In this latest study, Freeman and colleagues investigated how nutritionally poor foods are marketed through social media sites and looked at the audience that are most likely to engage with this marketing.
Unhealthy food brands 'capitalize on social users' networks'

To reach their findings, thoai hoa khop the team analyzed the Facebook pages of 27 high-ranked food and beverage brands, including Subway, Slurpee, Coca-Cola and Maltesers. The researchers assessed their marketing techniques, follower engagement and marketing messages.

The researchers found that unhealthy food companies - defined as those which were energy-dense and nutrient-poor - pulled in a high level of engagement on the social med