Health claims and product endorsements on child-oriented beverages in Guatemala

• Published in: Public health nutrition Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 627 - 631
• Main Authors: Perry, Andrew, Chacon, Violeta, Barnoya, Joaquin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.02.2018
• Subjects: Animals; Beverages; Carbonated Beverages; Carbonation; Celebrities; Child; Children & youth; Consumer Behavior; Consumption; Convenience stores; Diet; Drinking water; Endorsements; Energy Drinks; Food; Food Industry - methods; Food Labeling; Food Packaging; Fruit; Fruit juices; Fruits; Glycine max; Guatemala; Health care; Heart; Humans; Licenses; Market strategy; Marketing; Milk; Nutrition; Nutrition research; Nutritive Value; Obesity; Oryza; Packaging; Pediatrics; Public health; Public Policies; Purchasing; Short Communications; Spokes; Water; Guatemala; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Lower-middle-income country; Sugar-sweetened beverages; Health-related endorsements
• ISSN: 1368-9800; 1475-2727
• DOI: 10.1017/S1368980017003123

We sought to describe front-of-package marketing strategies and nutritional quality of child-oriented beverages in Guatemala. We purchased all child-oriented ready-to-drink fruit drinks, milks and carbonated beverages in three convenience stores and one supermarket in Guatemala City. Front-of-package marketing was defined as the presence of spokes-characters, cartoons, celebrities, or health-related images, words, claims or endorsements on beverage packaging. We used the UK Nutrition Profiling Model (NPM) to classify beverages as healthy or less healthy. Guatemala City, Guatemala. We purchased eighty-nine beverages; most were fruit drinks (n 52, 58 %), milk (15, 17 %), carbonated beverages (5, 17 %), rice/soya products (5, 6·0 %), water (1, 1 %) and energy drinks (1, 1 %). Two-thirds (57, 64 %) had health claims. Of those with a nutrition facts label (85, 96 %), nearly all (76, 89 %) were classified as less healthy. No association between the presence of health claims and NPM score (P=0·26) was found. Eight beverages had health-related endorsements. However, only one beverage was classified as healthy. In this sample of beverages in Guatemala City, health claims and health-related endorsements are used to promote beverages with poor nutritional quality. Our data support evidence-based policies to regulate the use of front-of-package health claims and endorsements based on nutritional quality.