A deep learning approach to identify unhealthy advertisements in street view images

While outdoor advertisements are common features within towns and cities, they may reinforce social inequalities in health. Vulnerable populations in deprived areas may have greater exposure to fast food, gambling and alcohol advertisements encouraging their consumption. Understanding who is exposed and evaluating potential policy restrictions requires a substantial manual data collection effort. To address this problem we develop a deep learning workflow to automatically extract and classify unhealthy advertisements from street-level images. We introduce the Liverpool 360 degree Street View (LIV360SV) dataset for evaluating our workflow. The dataset contains 26,645, 360 degree, street-level images collected via cycling with a GoPro Fusion camera, recorded Jan 14th -- 18th 2020. 10,106 advertisements were identified and classified as food (1335), alcohol (217), gambling (149) and other (8405) (e.g., cars and broadband). We find evidence of social inequalities with a larger proportion of food advertisements located within deprived areas, and those frequented by students and children carrying excess weight. Our project presents a novel implementation for the incidental classification of street view images for identifying unhealthy advertisements, providing a means through which to identify areas that can benefit from tougher advertisement restriction policies for tackling social inequalities

A deep learning approach to identify unhealthy advertisements in street view images

While outdoor advertisements are common features within towns and cities, they may reinforce social inequalities in health. Vulnerable populations in deprived areas may have greater exposure to fast food, gambling and alcohol advertisements encouraging their consumption. Understanding who is exposed and evaluating potential policy restrictions requires a substantial manual data collection effort. To address this problem we develop a deep learning workflow to automatically extract and classify unhealthy advertisements from street-level images. We introduce the Liverpool 360 Street View (LIV360SV) dataset for evaluating our workflow. The dataset contains 25,349, 360 degree, street-level images collected via cycling with a GoPro Fusion camera, recorded Jan 14th - 18th 2020. 10,106 advertisements were identified and classified as food (1335), alcohol (217), gambling (149) and other (8405) (e.g., cars and broadband). We find evidence of social inequalities with a larger proportion of food advertisements located within deprived areas and those frequented by students. Our project presents a novel implementation for the incidental classification of street view images for identifying unhealthy advertisements, providing a means through which to identify areas that can benefit from tougher advertisement restriction policies for tackling social inequalities.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 3 table. To appear in Nature Scientific Report

A scoping review of outdoor food marketing: exposure, power and impacts on eating behaviour and health

Background: There is convincing evidence that unhealthy food marketing is extensive on television and in digital media, uses powerful persuasive techniques, and impacts dietary choices and consumption, particularly in children. It is less clear whether this is also the case for outdoor food marketing. This review (i) identifies common criteria used to define outdoor food marketing, (ii) summarises research methodologies used, (iii) identifies available evidence on the exposure, power (i.e. persuasive creative strategies within marketing) and impact of outdoor food marketing on behaviour and health and (iv) identifies knowledge gaps and directions for future research. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of Medline (Ovid), Scopus, Science Direct, Proquest, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and a number of grey literature sources. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher. Relevant full texts were independently checked by two researchers against eligibility criteria. Results: Fifty-three studies were conducted across twenty-one countries. The majority of studies (n = 39) were conducted in high-income countries. All measured the extent of exposure to outdoor food marketing, twelve also assessed power and three measured impact on behavioural or health outcomes. Criteria used to define outdoor food marketing and methodologies adopted were highly variable across studies. Almost a quarter of advertisements across all studies were for food (mean of 22.1%) and the majority of advertised foods were unhealthy (mean of 63%). The evidence on differences in exposure by SES is heterogenous, which makes it difficult to draw conclusions, however the research suggests that ethnic minority groups have a higher likelihood of exposure to food marketing outdoors. The most frequent persuasive creative strategies were premium offers and use of characters. There was limited evidence on the relationship between exposure to outdoor food marketing and eating behaviour or health outcomes. Conclusions: This review highlights the extent of unhealthy outdoor food marketing globally and the powerful methods used within this marketing. There is a need for consistency in defining and measuring outdoor food marketing to enable comparison across time and place. Future research should attempt to measure direct impacts on behaviour and health

Branding the local church: reaching out or selling out?

For-profit organisations recognise the importance of a strong brand. The world all have brand values over $1 billion. A brand, a distinct image and idecompanies to differentiate themselves from their competition. In contrast, non-profit organisations (NPOs) have not seen branding as essential. However, recent research shows that NPOs with a high branding orientation, (i.e., those that perceive themselves as a brand), experience increased: revenue; member and public awareness; and strategic focus. This paper examines how a branding orientation has impacted on Christian churches. A survey of UK and Irish church leaders was conducted to identify whether they: (a) perceived their church as a brand; and (b) were aware of the potential benefits of branding, as identified in the literature. The leaders were also asked for their views on whether branding distorts their mission. The study found that whilst the majority of church leaders surveyed perceived significant benefits in branding, they also recognised its potentially negative effects on organisational values. Drawing on organisational identity theory, the paper argues that tensions lie at the heart of branding in NPOs. NPOs often have ambiguous and multiple identities, formed out of strong ideological values which are perceived differently by a range of stakeholders. It is not possible to simply ‘cut and paste’ for-profit management/marketing concepts - which may overlook the complexity of the non-profit form and dilute the NPO’s identity in a search for a clear and concise image. Navigating these tensions involves giving consideration to the relationship between branding orientation (i.e., the commitment to brand) and branding focus (i.e., those within the organisation or outside it). A new model which can be tested in future research is discussed. This model reveals several organisational types and makes it possible for leaders to consider how branding might assist or detract from their core mission and values

Knowledge of Type 2 Diabetes in the New Zealand Population and Effectiveness of Knowledge-Based Interventions

To support the Child Obesity & Type 2 Diabetes Prevention Network in reducing the rise of diabetes in New Zealand, our team administered 401 questionnaires to assess knowledge of Type 2 diabetes among residents of greater Wellington; prior research had studied only clinical patients. We coupled those findings with key strategies utilized by other successful knowledge-based health campaigns to design two approaches to a diabetes awareness campaign tailored to those now known to be least aware of the disease