Cartoon Characters Make Food Look and Taste Better
First lady Michelle Obama may have to go head to head with Shrek, Dora the Explorer, Sponge Bob and other cartoon characters in her battle against childhood obesity. A new study found that food labeled with beloved animated stars, is more appealing to children, and actually tastes better to them.
When given the choice, 85% of children in the study picked the gummy snacks with the cartoon character on it, as opposed to the plain-wrapped gummy snacks.
This youth based marketing is having a huge influence on the eating habits of American children. Each year, billions of dollars are spent on youth-based marketing, so it’s no wonder that children prefer eating foods marked with popular cartoon characters.
“Children are naturally going to associate their favorite cartoon characters with something fun,” said Michael Bishop, Ph.D. a licensed psychologist and Executive Director of Wellspring (www.wellspringcamps.com/), adolescent and young adult fitness and weight loss camps. “Children lack the insight and experience of adults that tells us packaging has little to do with the nutritional content or quality of the food.”
This concerns health experts like Dr. Bishop because most of the foods with the appealing marks are not the fresh fruits and vegetables that we are trying to get our children to eat more of. It’s the foods that are highest in sugar and fat. In fact the study revealed that the use of cartoon celebrities on a package of baby carrots had the least influence on children’s preferences.
Although parents don’t have billions of dollars to spend on counter-advertising, Dr. Bishop believes there are things they can do to help. “Parents should teach their children to read food labels and to ignore the use of licensed characters on food packaging,” says Dr. Bishop. Teaching his children to focus on the nutrition label rather than the character is something he has already begun doing with his two young children. “When I take my 5 and 7 year old to the grocery store I have them first identify the serving size, then the calorie and fat content of the food,” explains Dr. Bishop.
Public health advocates like Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University and other organizations including the American Psychological Association are calling for the elimination of all marketing of food products to children.
But until that happens Bishop is advising parents to show their children good habits because they will see on average 10,000 advertisements for unhealthy food in a year. “Role modeling healthy lifestyle habits are essential,” he says. “Remind your children that these products should only be eaten on rare occasion.” He also recommends that “if you have a weight issue or if you have ever had a weight issue, you should develop the mindset that, “these foods are not for me.”
Then don’t forget how important physical activity is in the face of cartoons. “The fact that they’re watching so many cartoon characters is reflective of the fact that they should turn off the TV and get moving,” Bishop adds.
You can read the full report in the journal Pediatrics online: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-3433v1.
Popularity: 3% [?]
