Professor Janet Hoek - marketing & public policy research
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| Professor Janet Hoek |
With a long held interest in marketing and public policy, Professor Janet Hoek is currently working on two significant research projects into tobacco packaging, and the connection between junk food and sport in New Zealand.
Prof. Hoek is working with the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine on the tobacco packaging study, a project made possible through a Health Research Council Grant. The study aims to explore young adults’ perceptions of tobacco brands, and estimate the effect of larger warning labels on a cigarette brand’s appeal.
“Tobacco kills 5000 New Zealanders each year, and although the Smokefree Environments Act 1990 and subsequent measures have restricted tobacco marketing, tobacco packaging and branding remain important marketing tools," says Prof. Hoek.
The second project, led by Dr Louise Signal of the University of Otago's Wellington School of Medicine, will explore whether New Zealand sports settings encourage unhealthy eating through the marketing and availability of different food types, particularly junk food. The study will use a range of methodologies to explore the overall food environment in New Zealand sports, and examine in detail two exemplar sports – rugby and netball – at national, regional and local levels. Results of the project have the potential to influence health by informing the development and implementation of policy that would promote a healthy food and nutrition environment within New Zealand sport.
Prof. Hoek has recently been appointed to the New Zealand Food Safety Authority Academy to provide advice on consumer research.