Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41382080›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Outdoor food advertising landscape along school-age children's daily commute routes in Chengdu: implications for childhood obesity prevention.

Chunyu Zhao, Chongjun Bi, Min Feng, Jingru Ma, Jingwei Che, Xiaohui Li, Yongsheng Li, Xiaohua Lyu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Chunyu Zhao *West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Chongjun Bi *United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Beijing, China.
Min Feng *Chengdu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, China.
Jingru MaWest China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Jingwei CheWest China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Xiaohui LiChengdu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, China.
Yongsheng LiChengdu Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, China.
Xiaohua LyuWest China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China. luxiaohua@scu.edu.cn.

Funding

Sichuan Science and Technology Program No.2025JDKP0144
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe advertising of unhealthy foods has been recognized as a significant contributor to childhood overweight and obesity. In China, childhood obesity has become an escalating public health concern. Despite this, data on outdoor food advertising, one of the most common advertising forms that children encounter in their daily lives is not well documented in China, leaving gaps in an understanding of its exposure, impact and implications for policy interventions. Collaborating with UNICEF China, this study investigated outdoor advertising in 3 key settings (roadside environment around schools, high-rise apartment communities, and public transit systems), aiming to fill these gaps and support a healthier environment across China.

methodsMulti-stage stratified random sampling methods were utilized to select investigated schools, high-rise apartment communities, and public transit systems in Chengdu. The INFORMAS Outdoor Advertising Protocol guided the selection of the physical routes covered in the investigations, while WHO Nutrient Profile Model for the Western Pacific Region served as the technical basis for categorizing the food items advertised. At the same time, advertising themes in outdoor advertisements of unhealthy foods were identified through qualitative coding and content analysis.

resultsA total of 998 outdoor advertisements were observed around 25 schools, of which 439 (44.0%) were food advertisements. 308 (70·2% of all food advertisements) were for unhealthy foods. In 903 high-rise apartment communities, 2864 distinctive print advertisements and 1174 non-repetitive video advertisements were recorded, with approximately one-third (32·6%&35·5%, respectively) food-related, and over half of food-related advertisements through each medium (52·8%&64·4%, respectively) marketing unhealthy foods. In public transit, 3385 advertisements were collected through 70 bus routes and Metro Line 1 to Line 8, including 232 (6·9%) food advertisements, with 114 (49·1%) for unhealthy foods. Along children’s daily commute routes, sugar-sweetened beverages and alcoholic beverages were the most frequently advertised unhealthy foods. Outdoor food advertisements in Chengdu, especially those for unhealthy foods, are mainly concentrated in central city. Video advertisements for unhealthy foods in residential buildings employed various marketing strategies, with taste appeal, nutrition/health claims, and promotional characters being the most prevalent themes.

conclusionSchool-age children in Chengdu are highly exposed to outdoor advertisements for unhealthy foods, with residential building elevators serving as a major hotspot for such advertising. Strengthening policy oversight of outdoor advertising for unhealthy foods is a crucial measure for preventing childhood obesity.

Indexed as

AdvertisingFoodPediatric ObesityTransportationChildChinaFemaleHumansMaleMedia ExposureSchoolsChildhood obesityFood advertisingMarketing themesOutdoor advertisingUnhealthy foods

Identifiers

PMID41382080
PMCPMC12802002

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.