ArticleBMJ global health2025
The impact of the social media industry as a commercial determinant of health on the digital food environment for children and adolescents: a scoping review.
Article in BMJ global health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed.
- Seeing Oneself in the Feed: Racialized Targeting in Food Marketing and Its Impact on Adolescents' Visual Interest and Unhealthy Food Preferences.Journal of experimental social psychology · 2026Article
- Understanding the Gap Between Nutritional Knowledge and Dietary Behavior Among Adolescents with Different BMI Statuses.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Integrating Policies that Enable Minimally Processed Foods with Policies that Restrict Ultra-Processed Foods for Obesity and Noncommunicable Disease Prevention.Current obesity reports · 2026Review
- Applying the Ottawa Charter to evaluate health literacy outcomes of the Little Aussie Bugs course for Australian early childhood educators.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Response to Content Prevalence Is Not Adolescent Exposure in TikTok Influencer Food Marketing Surveillance.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- From screens to snacks: social media exposure and food consumption triggers among overweight and obese adolescents - evidence from a cross-sectional, mixed-methods approach.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Content Prevalence Is Not Adolescent Exposure in TikTok Influencer Food Marketing Surveillance.Public health nutrition · 2026Article
- Systematic Review of Health Literacy and Health Behavior in Adolescents Research.Epidemiologia (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Effects of social media sponsorship disclosure on adolescents' advertising literacy and purchase intention.PloS one · 2026Article
- The "pro-inflammatory imprint" of ultra-processed food exposure: a review of mechanisms affecting child and adolescent health and development via the gut microbiome-inflammation axis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Digital food advertising exposure and perceptions among school-age children: a mixed-methods study in Kazakhstan.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to school children nutrition in urban settings: cross-sectional study from Central Kazakhstan.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Integrating digital health into pediatric obesity management: Current practices and future perspectives.Obesity pillars · 2025Review
- Exploring Socioeconomic Disparities in Adults' Interactions with the Digital Food Environment: A Qualitative Study.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionThere is emerging evidence that the social media industry contributes to adverse health outcomes by shaping the digital food environment for children and adolescents (aged 0-18). The aim of this scoping review was to determine the extent of research on how the social media industry, including the broader online landscape, influences the digital food environment and affects child and adolescent health.
methodsA scoping review was conducted in the electronic databases of PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO, along with forward and reverse citation searching for peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2000 and May 2023. A qualitative descriptive synthesis of the included articles was performed to identify trends, themes and research gaps in the current literature.
resultsThe review identified 36 articles for inclusion. Most research was conducted in high-income countries and publications have increased since 2021. The review found most children and adolescents are exposed to food advertisements on social media and most advertised food is ultra-processed. Heightened by a lack of social media advertising awareness, digital food marketing influences children and youth's consumption and food behaviour. Voluntary children's food marketing regulations are ineffective for the online environment. Countering unhealthy food marketing will require media literacy and government regulation.
conclusionThe social media industry may act as a commercial determinant of health to shape the digital food environment as an extension of the obesogenic environment. Further research should explore approaches to monitor unhealthy food marketing practices and understand social media's role in the digital food environment.
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