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Study Finds Preschoolers Vulnerable to Fast-Food Advertising
Aug 7, 2007

A study in the August issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds that most preschoolers prefer the taste of food packaged in McDonald's wrappers over identical food in plain wrapping, suggesting that children are significantly influenced by fast-food marketing, HealthDay reports. In one of the first studies to assess the effect of a company's branding efforts on children, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine recruited 63 children ages 3 to 5 enrolled in Head Start, a federally sponsored preschool program for low-income families, to participate in a taste test. Researchers presented participants with five pairs of food items, including hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, milk and carrots, wrapping one item in each pair in McDonald's packaging and the other in similar packaging without the McDonald's logo.

In a separate survey, researchers questioned participants' parents about their children's race/ethnicity, the number of television sets in their home, how frequently their children watched TV, how frequently their children ate fast food and whether their children ever requested foods that they had seen advertised on TV. In about 60 percent of the tastings, the preschoolers indicated that they preferred the food in the McDonald's wrapper, including the carrots, which at the time were not marketed by McDonald's. Children picked the plainly packaged food in just 22 percent of the tastings and reported no difference or did not complete the experiment in 18 percent of tastings. Children who had more TVs in their homes and those who ate McDonald's more frequently were more likely than other children to prefer the food in the McDonald's wrappers. Dr. Thomas Robinson, the study's lead researcher, says the findings reinforce children's susceptibility to marketing influences and should be used to bolster support for efforts to "ban or regulate advertising or marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages directed to young children."

Responding to the study, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said that the company is "working to address the need for responsible marketing to kids," adding that the company has limited advertising of its Happy Meals to include only white meat McNuggets, fresh apple slices, and low-fat milk. Riker also noted that McDonald's most recent advertising blitz, which was tied to the release of the latest "Shrek" movie, specifically promoted fruits, vegetables and milk, signaling what he called the company's "progressive approach to responsible marketing." Acknowledging fast food companies' recent efforts to market more nutritious foods, Robinson nonetheless cautions that parents should be mindful of marketing's influence on children, adding that it is "really an unfair marketplace out there for young children" and that it is "very clear [children] cannot understand the persuasive nature of advertising" (Reinberg, HealthDay, 8/6/07; Steenhuysen, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 8/6/07; Robinson et al., Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 8/6/07). Editor's note: Robinson was partly supported in his work on this study by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar Award.

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Home About Virginia Head Start Find a Head Start Program Success Stories Resources & Links Member Central News & Events Virginia Head Start Association PO Box 876 Lynchburg, VA 24505	Member Central VaHS Health News Obesity Study Finds Preschoolers Vulnerable to Fast-Food Advertising Aug 7, 2007 A study in the August issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds that most preschoolers prefer the taste of food packaged in McDonald's wrappers over identical food in plain wrapping, suggesting that children are significantly influenced by fast-food marketing, HealthDay reports. In one of the first studies to assess the effect of a company's branding efforts on children, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine recruited 63 children ages 3 to 5 enrolled in Head Start, a federally sponsored preschool program for low-income families, to participate in a taste test. Researchers presented participants with five pairs of food items, including hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, milk and carrots, wrapping one item in each pair in McDonald's packaging and the other in similar packaging without the McDonald's logo. In a separate survey, researchers questioned participants' parents about their children's race/ethnicity, the number of television sets in their home, how frequently their children watched TV, how frequently their children ate fast food and whether their children ever requested foods that they had seen advertised on TV. In about 60 percent of the tastings, the preschoolers indicated that they preferred the food in the McDonald's wrapper, including the carrots, which at the time were not marketed by McDonald's. Children picked the plainly packaged food in just 22 percent of the tastings and reported no difference or did not complete the experiment in 18 percent of tastings. Children who had more TVs in their homes and those who ate McDonald's more frequently were more likely than other children to prefer the food in the McDonald's wrappers. Dr. Thomas Robinson, the study's lead researcher, says the findings reinforce children's susceptibility to marketing influences and should be used to bolster support for efforts to "ban or regulate advertising or marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages directed to young children." Responding to the study, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said that the company is "working to address the need for responsible marketing to kids," adding that the company has limited advertising of its Happy Meals to include only white meat McNuggets, fresh apple slices, and low-fat milk. Riker also noted that McDonald's most recent advertising blitz, which was tied to the release of the latest "Shrek" movie, specifically promoted fruits, vegetables and milk, signaling what he called the company's "progressive approach to responsible marketing." Acknowledging fast food companies' recent efforts to market more nutritious foods, Robinson nonetheless cautions that parents should be mindful of marketing's influence on children, adding that it is "really an unfair marketplace out there for young children" and that it is "very clear [children] cannot understand the persuasive nature of advertising" (Reinberg, HealthDay, 8/6/07; Steenhuysen, Reuters/Yahoo! News, 8/6/07; Robinson et al., Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 8/6/07). Editor's note: Robinson was partly supported in his work on this study by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar Award.