Foodporn for e-priming healthy food choices among adolescents: an experimental study using appealing food imagery

Social media (SM) use has increased among adolescents, who are also more susceptible to the obesogenic digital food environment. One important nudge is ‘Foodporn’: sharing of alluring food images, a concept often associated with creating demand for unhealthy foods. However, this study assessed the use of foodporn images on SM as a possible visual stimulant to prime choices of healthy foods among adolescents. Also, assessed if secondary determinants associated with unhealthy food choices are relevant when promoting healthy foods using foodporn. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design with an intervention framework was utilized. The quantitative phase involved 3 stages of online data collection using pretested questionnaires ( N = 203). An item pool of 15 images categorized into 3 groups: “unhealthy foodporn” (unhealthy foods depicted in alluring pictures), “healthy foodporn” (healthy foods depicted in alluring pictures), and “healthy regular” (healthy foods depicted as regular pictures) was created and images were shared on Instagram for 15 days with a questionnaire assessing possible choices. The qualitative phase involved telephonic in-depth interviews ( N = 19). Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi-square and McNemar’s analysis (SPSS version 27.0), while reflexive thematic analysis was employed for qualitative data. Visual appeal of images was found to be significantly ( p < 0.05) associated with willingness to consume the foods. Colour, visual effects, ingredients, and presentation were the factors determining the appeal and impact of food images on diet. The intervention primarily featured healthy food images (two-thirds of total), and a consistent positive trend was observed across attitudes, frequency of consumption and intention to consume. Norms commonly associated with unhealthy foods, such as higher purchase intentions and eating out with friends were more strongly associated with foodporn images of healthy foods than with regular images. Findings suggest that presenting healthy foods in a ‘foodporn’ way can positively incline adolescents towards healthier food choices. This strategy can be upscaled by fostering online communities that promote visually appealing, healthy food content.