Games, apps, ads: The impact of digital food marketing

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 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.

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 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.