A new study has found that seeing food ads on television can influence children to eat more while watching. The experiment, conducted by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale, monitored the behavior of 118 children, ages 7 to 11. The children were each given bowls of Goldfish crackers and left alone to watch a 14-minute cartoon. During commercial breaks, some of the children were shown advertisements for games and entertainment, while other children watched four advertisements for unhealthy snacks, such as waffle sticks with syrup, fruit roll-ups and potato chips.
The children who saw the food ads consumed 45 percent more Goldfish than the children who saw the entertainment commercials. Children viewing the food commercials consumed an average of 28.5 grams of Goldfish crackers, while children viewing entertainment commercials consumed 19.7 grams of Goldfish. Study authors said that the study suggests "a direct causal link between food advertising and greater snack consumption."
(Source: www.nytimes.com)
Labels: advertisements, kids, tv, eating
Posted By: Aspen Education Group
