Do Food Commercials Make You Eat More?
If you've ever wondered if watching advertisements for assorted types of processed food products encourages children to eat more, some research suggests your suspicions are more than warranted.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, exposed 60 children between age 9 and 11, of varying weights, to both food advertisements and toy advertisement, followed by a cartoon and free food.
More food was eaten after the food advertisements than after the commercials for toys. Interestingly the obese children increased their consumption of food the most (134%) compared to overweight children (101%) and normal weight children (84%).
First of all, I'm not surprised by these results. That is the whole point of food advertising, isn't it? To encourage consumption of the product? If it didn't work, why would food and beverage companies continue to spend millions on advertising? It does appear, though, that obese and overweight children are particularly vulnerable to this and that in itself is alarming and worth noting to appropriate government agencies.
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: children, media, advertising, obesity
Researchers from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom, exposed 60 children between age 9 and 11, of varying weights, to both food advertisements and toy advertisement, followed by a cartoon and free food.
More food was eaten after the food advertisements than after the commercials for toys. Interestingly the obese children increased their consumption of food the most (134%) compared to overweight children (101%) and normal weight children (84%).
First of all, I'm not surprised by these results. That is the whole point of food advertising, isn't it? To encourage consumption of the product? If it didn't work, why would food and beverage companies continue to spend millions on advertising? It does appear, though, that obese and overweight children are particularly vulnerable to this and that in itself is alarming and worth noting to appropriate government agencies.
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: children, media, advertising, obesity
Labels: advertising, children, obesity
