Fit to play: how can online Games Be Used to Influence the Dietary Behaviour of Emerging Adults?

This PhD, Fit to Play: How Can Online Games Be Used to Influence the Dietary behaviour of Emerging Adults aims to understand whether online games and related activities, such as streaming and esports, can be used to positively influence the health behaviour of emerging adults (EAs). EAs, defined as adults aged 18 to 25, remain a difficult group to engage in healthful behaviours, including positive dietary and eating behaviours. During emerging adulthood, EAs learn behaviours that they carry through to the remainder of their life. Despite this, extant research shows that EAs reduce their fruit and vegetable intake and eat more energy-dense, nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods than during their adolescence.  EAs are the largest users of online games, esports and game streaming. Online games are also linked with negative nutritional outcomes, including increased food consumption, meal skipping and increased risk of high BMI. Online gaming platforms and communities are also being used by the food industry to target EAs. Despite this, there has been limited research into how online game environments can be used to influence EAs’ dietary behaviours. There is also limited evidence of social marketers, such as those in government or health agencies, using online games to engage EAs in better health. To address these limitations, I sought to better understand the social marketing potential for online games through answering the research question: How can online games be used to influence the dietary behaviour of emerging adults? I explored the research question through the theoretical framework of the Behavioural Ecological Model (BEM). BEMs posit that an individual’s actions are influenced by several external influences. These influences impact their resulting health behaviour – such as food consumption. Using a social constructivist philosophy and qualitative research approach I sought to understand the behavioural ecology that EAs enter into when they play online games, the influence that this ecology might be having on their dietary behaviour and how social marketers can use this ecology to influence EAs. I delivered the research in three stages. In Stage 1, I explored extant research into EA dietary behaviour, as well as gaming. An EA Gamer Behavioural Ecological Map was produced, which identified influences to be explored in subsequent stages. In Stage 2, I observed 11 online game streaming communities for the popular battle royale game Fortnite. These observations aimed to understand the extent and origins of conversations about food in these online communities. In the final stage, I interviewed esports industry professionals and EA gamers. These 13 interviews provided further insight into the behavioural ecology that EAs engage with, and the intersection of food within the online game ecology. Through this PhD, I identified 23 influences that may be impacting the dietary behaviour of EAs through online games. In answer to the research question, content creators, professional esports players, virtual peers and esports organisations were identified as the likely conduits for social marketing. Bi-directional influences were identified within my research, underscoring that in online gaming communities, EAs are not a passive audience. When it comes to dietary behaviour, they are likely to be an influencer, as well as be influenced by others. EA gamers, however, are part of a behavioural ecology where unhealthy food seems to be the norm. This PhD identified that stereotypical depictions of the ‘unhealthy gamer’ may have become a socio-cultural influence that is being embedded in several interactions within the EA gamer behavioural ecology. This includes the discussion of food in online communities, the sponsorship and advertising of food in gaming spaces, and even the types of food that are made available at gaming events – whether professional or amateur in nature. This PhD identifies the potential need for social marketing to readdress the current food narrative within gaming that is likely impacting EAs. My findings highlight that while there are some clear opportunities to influence EA dietary behaviour through online games there are power imbalances within the gaming ecosystem that need to be tackled by social marketers. The heavy reliance on sponsorship and the low level of government regulation in parts of the gamer ecology, such as esports, creates an environment that favours sponsorship and advertising from the food industry. In this environment, influencers such as content creators, esports teams and tournaments are likely to accept sponsorships without consideration of the health impacts on others within the behavioural ecology. This PhD calls on social marketers to use my findings to become familiar with the EA gamer behavioural ecology for their future strategies. This ecology should become a mainstay of strategies that target EAs, much like social media has become a permanent part of the media mix. It further outlines opportunities for social marketers to work with the online games and esports industries to consider policies and practices that protect the health of casual, amateur and professional gamers. As exploratory research, I have also outlined a research pathway to further build collective knowledge relevant to my research question. Further work is needed to understand the impact of influences within the EA gamer behavioural ecology on food consumption habits. Research will also be needed to design interventions that tackle dietary behaviour within the EA gamer ecology and readdress socio-cultural norms. In answering the research question, this PhD has uncovered an influential behavioural ecology that presents opportunities to impact dietary behaviour as well as other healthful behaviours that will support the long-term health of EAs.