Effects of image form and model body shape in healthy eating advertisements on health perceptions and emotional responses

Abstract

Mass media has become an essential channel for promoting healthy eating while preventing non-communicable diseases. However, the design forms of advertisement health messages can affect consumers' attitudes toward advertising and their health perceptions. This study adopted an experimental design to explore the effects of fruit and vegetable image design forms (anthropomorphic, photographic, and geometric) and model body shapes (no model, obese, overweight, normal, and thin) on health perceptions and emotional responses. The findings indicate that when the model's body shape was “normal,” anthropomorphic fruit and vegetable designs significantly improved health perceptions; when the model's body shape deviated from health standards (e.g., thin or obese), photographic and geometric designs may weaken health perceptions. The body shape of the advertisements’ models was the main factor affecting emotional responses. Advertisements with thin or obese models were more likely to cause negative emotions, while normal body shapes can maintain emotional stability. When designing healthy eating advertisements, selecting anthropomorphic fruit and vegetable images and models with normal body shapes can strengthen health perceptions while reducing negative emotional responses, improving advertising effectiveness.