Three decades of research in health and food marketing. A systematic review

With multiple approaches, methodologies and theoretical traditions involved, the body of marketing research focused on health and food has grown particularly extensive, fragmented, and difficult to navigate. Driven by the goal of synthesizing three decades of research in the field and reflecting on its development over time, this study provides a broad bibliographic, theoretical, methodological, and thematic assessment of a selection of 190 articles published between 1988 and 2015, using systematic literature review and content analysis methods. The results reveal that knowledge in the field is predominantly driven by US-authored, experiment-based studies with statistical scope that often fail to articulate a discernable theoretical anchor. Despite a plethora of themes, the research prioritizes the issues of healthy food (choices) over healthful eating. By identifying the drivers of the development of health and food research, this study contributes to the debate about the current state and the future of this research domain.