My thesis
The food environment has a fundamental influence on dietary quality, with children being particularly vulnerable to unhealthy food and beverage marketing. In Canada, marketing practices are guided by voluntary industry self-regulation, with the exception of Québec which has had mandatory restrictions on child-directed advertising since 1980. There is also interest from Health Canada in amending the Food and Drug Regulations to restrict food advertising federally. Both the existing and proposed regulation (along with many policies globally) make exemptions for brand-only marketing - marketing featuring only brand imagery, such as logos or mascots, without any identifiable food/beverage products. It is unknown if the effect of ‘brand-only’ marketing differs from marketing featuring specific products. Strong industry influence is often a barrier to implementing marketing restrictions and several countries require messages promoting healthy diet and exercise to be displayed on advertisements for unhealthy foods as an alternative policy measure; the potential of health messages to mitigate the promotional influence of advertisements is currently not well unexplored.
My thesis looked to examine key characteristics of policies restricting unhealthy food marketing to children that may strengthen or weaken policy impact, specifically focusing on: 1) differences in youth's self-reported exposure to child-directed unhealthy food marketing between mandatory (Québec) and voluntary (other provinces) policy contexts, 2) impact of ‘brand-only’ marketing (commonly exempt from restrictions) on product appeal and selection among youth, and 3) efficacy of alternative public health messages displayed on sugar-sweetened beverage advertisements on advertised product appeal and perceived healthiness among youth. My thesis leveraged both observational and experimental study designs using data from the International Food Policy Youth Surveys, which provided me with experience in diverse survey measure design and analysis.
My time in the School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS)
My time in the School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS) has been incredibly rewarding. I've had several opportunities to present my thesis research at domestic and international conferences including at the Canadian Nutrition Society Conference in Edmonton, Alberta, and the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) conference in Uppsala, Sweden. A particular highlight of my time was traveling to Auckland, New Zealand to give an oral presentation on one of my thesis studies at the ISBNPA conference.
I have had many opportunities to engage with the university community. I've worked on campus in the GSPA as a Graduate Student Programming Strategist where I conducted an assessment of graduate student programming. I also supported the Research and Practice in Health Sciences conference as an abstract reviewer, served on the Graduate Student Endowment Fund as health representative, was involved with the SPHS Graduate Student Association, and was a finalist for GRADFlix (science communication competition). While completing the Certificate in University Teaching at the Center for Teaching Excellence, I was able to guest lecture for an undergraduate public health class and the iFEAS program for international students.
Over the course of my time at SPHS, I was able to expand my network and collaborate with leading experts in my field both in Canada and abroad. I am immensely grateful for the mentorship I have received from my supervisor, thesis committee members, staff, and colleagues.
Read more about Liza’s research
- Peer-reviewed publications:
- GRADflix entry (YouTube video)