This dataset was collected for a pilot study on the influence of racially-targeted food advertisement and food-related attentional biases on eating behaviors among a sample of Black female adolescents. Study participants were recruited from the Washington, DC metropolitan area between June 2017 and June 2018. Eligible participants were female, 12 to 17 years old, self-identified as Black or African-American, had a body mass index (BMI) greater or equal to the 5th percentile for their age/sex, and were English-speaking. Individuals were excluded if they had a medical or psychiatric illness, were taking medications that affected appetite, mood, or weight; disliked ≥40% of test meal foods; or had food allergies or restrictions that could not be accommodated.

Recruited adolescents completed a telephone pre-screen. The study purpose was concealed during screening and the consent/assent process with the participant and her parents or guardians. Each participant fasted and did not engage in physical activities two hours prior to their study visit. At the study visit, participants consumed a 100 kcal granola bar and completed a hunger visual analogue scale before prior to a 15-minute food-related attentional bias (ABs) computer dot probe task. The ABs task measured the speed at which attention was drawn toward food images versus non-food images. Then each participant viewed a 14-minute clip of The Big Bang Theory spliced with either a selection of four 30-second racially-targeted food ads from McDonald’s, Burger King, Popeye’s, and Kentucky Fried Chicken with culturally-congruent features (e.g., Black actors) or four 30-second neutral ads (Geico, Esurance, Ford, Honda) without culturally-congruent features. All other references to food, eating, or restaurants within the clip were removed. After marketing exposure, each participant was allowed 30 minutes to eat freely from a multi-item test meal before being debriefed.

The dataset includes hunger ratings, ABs bias scores, Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) responses, nutritional content of consumed foods, body measurements, and demographic information from 41 participants.