The placement of popular media characters on the packaging of breakfast cereals may play a strong role in influencing children to eat those cereals. And that’s true, a new study has concluded, even when kids aren’t keen on the taste of the cereal when the characters aren’t on the box.
The new research, and a related study last year, highlight the role that product packaging may be playing in inducing children to eat less healthy food.
In the new study, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia analyzed the subliminal influence of popular characters such as Shrek on children’s cereal choices. They showed four different boxes — all of which contained the same Clifford Crunch cereal — to 80 children ages 4 to 6.
Two of the boxes were labeled “Sugar Bits” and two “Healthy Bits.” With each of the two “brands,” one box had a pair of penguins from the cartoon movie “Happy Feet” displayed on the front, while the other box did not.
The study, published in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, said children in the “Sugar Bits” group with penguins on the box reported liking the cereal just as much as the children who were in the “Healthy Bits” group. But those who ate penguin-free “Sugar Bits” reported enjoying the cereal’s taste “significantly less” than children in all of the other groups, the researchers said.
“There’s something really disconcerting happening here,” co-author Sarah Vaala told HealthDay News. “We’re working really hard these days to tell kids to eat healthy, and it does seem to be resonating.” All the same, she said, “the friendly characters on the packaging trump that judgment.”
The study appears to complement the findings of a Yale University team that reported last June that adorning American food product packaging with characters such as Dora the Explorer drives preschoolers to choose higher-calorie, less healthful foods over more nutritious options.
“Kids transfer their favorable attitudes for that character to the product and want to buy it more,” Vaala said. “We wanted to know if that transfer extended to the actual taste of a food product, whether putting these friendly, well-known characters on products subconsciously influences their judgment of the product.”
Kids don’t know too much about nutrition. It doesn’t really click until you are older. They just know what looks and taste good. It is up to the parents to educate their child on proper nutrition and develop their palate into a healthy palate. Therefore, when your child wants to grab the cool looking tiger box with the prize, you just say flat out no. I am the parent and I decide what we buy. Choose the healthy option. As my mom would say growing up, if you are really hungry you will eat what is in front of you. So if your child throws a small fit and chooses not to eat breakfast the next morning because you opted out of buying the cereal of their choosing… they will just have to suffer for that morning with small hunger pains. I can guarantee they will come around and thank you for their healthy lifestyle when they are older. Also, parents should get their child to be active. I usually turn on ExerciseTV because they have programs for all ages and specific ones for families.