This event will examine how digital marketing of food and drinks across games, apps and online advertising shapes people’s eating habits and what current evidence tells us about its impact.
Digital marketing techniques are increasingly sophisticated and can be targeted at specific groups of the population. Evidence shows they can shape people's eating habits and increase the risk of ill health, including obesity.
Attend this event to learn how digital marketing impacts our health. Our expert speakers will discuss:
Findings from Safefood research on the marketing of food to children across the island of Ireland.
Digital marketing strategies embedded in gaming.
The role of food delivery apps in promoting certain foods and beverages.
Programme
10:00 am – 10.15 am Welcome and Open – Chair: Dr Aileen McGloin, Safefood Opening remarks: Association for the Study of Obesity Northern Ireland
10.15 am – 10.40 am CLICKBITE: Children's actual digital food marketing exposure on social media on the island of Ireland, and what children, parents and advertisers think about it.
Joana Caldeira da Silva, Safefood
10.40 am – 11:05 am Food Marketing in Gaming: Current Evidence and Future Research Directions
Speaker: Dr Rebecca Evans, University of Liverpool
11:05 am – 11:25 am Break
11:25 am – 11.50 am Monitoring Meal Delivery Apps: Evidence, Methods, and Opportunities to Inform Policy and Regulation
Speaker: Dr Nuwan Weerasinghe, WHO Regional Office
11:50 am – 12:15 pm Implementing and Evaluating Food Marketing Restrictions in Portugal
Speaker: Marta Figueira
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm Questions and answer session
Panel
12:45 pm - 1:00pm Closing remarks: Association for the Study of Obesity Ireland
Chair: Dr Aileen McGloin, Safefood
Register
Speakers
Joana Caldeira Fernandes da Silva
Safefood
Joana da Silva (BSc, MSc, RD) graduated with a first-class honours in Dietetics and completed a MSc in Ethics in Healthcare at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and an MA in Strategy and Leadership at the Institute of Public Administration. Joana is a CORU registered Dietitian, a member of the INDI and a member of the Northern Ireland BDA Branch. Joana's work in Safefood over the last 10 years focuses on many areas, from policy development and implementation to research management.
Dr Nuwan Weerasinghe
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Dr Nuwan Weerasinghe is a consultant with the WHO Regional Office for Europe, specialising in digital food environments, unhealthy food marketing on social media, and the impact of meal delivery apps on obesity and noncommunicable diseases. His research has contributed to peer-reviewed studies on food pricing, promotions, and socioeconomic patterns within meal delivery platforms, with findings published in Public Health Nutrition and The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. Dr Weerasinghe has contributed to WHO’s Slide to Order reports and supports the development of data driven monitoring tools, including AI-enabled approaches under the WHO CLICK framework to assess children’s exposure to digital food marketing across social media and online platforms.
Dr Rebecca Evans
University of Liverpool
Rebecca is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Psychology at the University of Liverpool. She obtained her PhD in Psychology in 2024 – her thesis explored the extent and nature of digital food marketing via videogame livestreaming platforms and its impact on young people’s eating behaviour and health. Since obtaining her PhD, Rebecca has continued to research the effects of food marketing on various aspects of eating and has evaluated public health policy approaches, such as nutrition labelling, to promote healthier diets. Rebecca has been awarded the Nutrition Society Prize and the European Association for the Study of Obesity Best Thesis Award for her research. She was also selected to deliver the British Science Festival Social Sciences Award Lecture in recognition of her research and public engagement contributions.
Marta Figueira
University of Porto
Marta Figueira is a Nutritionist (4905N) and Researcher. She holds a BSc degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from Coimbra Health School and an MSc in Consumer Sciences and Nutrition from the University of Porto (FCUP/FCNAUP). Since 2022, she integrates the technical team of the National Program for the Promotion of Healthy Eating at the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health. Her professional experience includes work on major European initiatives, specifically the BestReMaP and PreventNCD Joint Actions in the field of unhealthy food marketing to children. Currently she is a PhD candidate in Food Consumption and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Porto, supported by a research grant from the Foundation of Science and Technology. Her doctoral research, titled ‘Portuguese children's exposure to unhealthy digital food marketing: monitoring, regulation and awareness’, focuses on the impact of digital food marketing and the effectiveness of public health regulations.
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