ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To
document the evidence about
marketing of
ultra-processed foods and "non-
alcoholic"
beverages in
Latin America.
METHODS We performed a structured search of quantitative and qualitative studies in
PubMed, SciELO and
LILACS, published between January 2000 and May 2017 and conducted in
Latin America. We conducted a quality assessment following a standardized tool and a thematic
analysis to identify key typologies of
marketing across studies RESULTS Out of 521 studies screened by title and abstract, we included 36 in this
review; 27 of them analyzed
television advertisement. Other
marketing channels studied were
food packaging, point of
sale and outdoor advertisement. Studies found
television advertises
foods and
beverages that are mostly ultraprocessed
foods and have low
nutritional value, particularly those promoted during
children's
programming. We also observed
children have a literal interpretation of images printed on
food packaging, so this can be deceiving. Several studies also found proximity to unhealthy
foods may increase their
consumption. Finally, the thematic
analysis identified the following typologies of
food marketing a)
television advertisement, b)
food packaging marketing, c)
marketing strategies at points of
sale and d) other
marketing strategies. We found almost no advertisements for unprocessed or
minimally processed foods such as
fruits and
vegetables. We did not find any studies on digital
marketing conducted in the region. CONCLUSIONS This
review found that the main channel of
food marketing was
television advertising. This synthesis provides insights to the challenges unhealthy
eating represents to the
public health of
Latin America and identifies
knowledge gaps to guide
future research.