Many music celebrities popular with teens endorse foods and drinks that are high on calories and low on nutrients, a U.S. study suggests.
Of the 65 music celebrities promoting beverages and snacks, 53 had at least one Teen Choice award nomination, indicating popularity among young people.
More than two-thirds of the nonalcoholic drink promotions featured sodas and sugary drinks, the study found. More than four-fifths of the endorsed snacks were heavy on calories and light on nutrients.
“This is concerning given one-third of teens are overweight or obese,” said lead study author Marie Bragg, a public health researcher at New York University School of Medicine.
Bragg and colleagues analyzed 590 product endorsements by 163 celebrities who appeared on the 2013 and 2014 Billboard Hot 100 Chart, which ranks songs according to sales and radio play.
Out of 69 beverages promoted by the celebrities, 49 were for sodas and other drinks sweetened with sugar, five were for diet sodas, and there was one promotion apiece for water and milk.
Full-calorie soft drinks were the most commonly endorsed beverages in the study, and the majority of these, 23, were made by PepsiCo, followed by eight for Coca-Cola Company and four from Dr. Pepper Snapple.
Source: in.reuters.com/article