Los Angeles – When did Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and My Fruity Faces edible stickers become nutrition experts? When a new study showed that children were more likely to add an apple to their school lunch when it was decorated with a sticker of a popular children’s TV character.
The findings show that the marketing tactics of using kid-friendly characters to promote unhealthy food to children can also be used to get kids to eat healthy foods. The researchers, who are from Cornell University, wrote in the August issue of the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine “the use of branding, or appealing branded characters, may benefit healthier foods more that indulgent, more highly processed foods.”
About 200 children between ages 8 and 11 from seven schools took part in the five-day study. At lunchtime, they were allowed to choose an apple or cookie as part of their lunch (and could choose both if they wanted).
On the first day, neither the apple nor the cookie contained a sticker. On other days, the sticker was placed on either the apple or the cookie.
About 90 percent chose a cookie on the first day, and there was no significant change after the sticker was added to it.
However, the percentage of children who chose an apple nearly doubled to close to 40 percent when the sticker was added.
"Just as attractive names have been shown to increase the selection of healthier foods in school lunches, brands and cartoon characters can do the same," the researchers said.
What’s the big news? Kids may be more likely to eat healthy foods if they are adorned with images of a popular children's TV character. Make sure you include My Fruity Faces with a delicious piece of fruit for a snack that’s sure to get eaten.
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Source: My Fruity Faces