Exposure to ‘healthy’ fast food meal bundles in television advertisements promotes liking for fast food but not healthier choices in children.

(2015) Exposure to ‘healthy’ fast food meal bundles in television advertisements promotes liking for fast food but not healthier choices in children. British Journal of Nutrition.

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Abstract

Due to regulatory changes, fast food companies often depict healthy foods in their television advertising to children. This study examined how exposure to advertising for ‘healthy’ children’s meal bundles influenced children’s food selection. 59 children (37 male), aged 7–10 years (8.8 ± 0.9y) took part. The within-participant, counterbalanced design had two conditions: control (exposure to ten toy adverts across two breaks of five adverts each) and experimental (the middle advert in each break replaced with one for a McDonalds’s Happy Meal® depicting the meal bundle as consisting of fish fingers, a fruit bag and a bottle of mineral water). Following viewing of the adverts embedded in a cartoon, children completed a hypothetical menu task and reported liking for McDonald’s food and fast food in general. Nutritional knowledge, height, and weight were measured. There was no significant difference between the two advert conditions for the nutritional content of the meal bundles selected. However, children’s liking for fast food in general increased after exposure to the food adverts, relative to control (p=0.004). Compared to children with high nutritional knowledge, those with low scores selected meals of greater energy content (305kJ) after the food adverts (p=0.016). Exposure to adverts for ‘healthy’ meal bundles did not drive healthier choices in children but did promote liking for fast food. These findings contribute to debates surrounding food advertising to children and the effectiveness of related policies.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	11 Mar 2015 10:42
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2018 11:34
DOI:	10.1017/S0007114515000082
URI:	http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2007990

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• Exposure to ‘healthy’ fast food meal bundles in television advertisements promotes liking for fast food but not healthier choices in children. (deposited 11 Mar 2015 10:42) [Currently Displayed]
  • Exposure to 'healthy' fast food meal bundles in television advertisements promotes liking for fast food but not healthier choices in children. (deposited 12 Mar 2015 10:37)

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