The Impact of Exposure to Cartoons Promoting Healthy Eating on Children's Food Preferences and Choices



Goncalves, Sonia, Ferreira, Rita, Conceicao, Eva M, Silva, Catia, Machado, Paulo PP, Boyland, Emma ORCID: 0000-0001-8384-4994 and Vaz, Ana
(2018) The Impact of Exposure to Cartoons Promoting Healthy Eating on Children's Food Preferences and Choices. JOURNAL OF NUTRITION EDUCATION AND BEHAVIOR, 50 (5). pp. 451-457.

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Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>This study explored whether a cartoon show with healthy eating messages positively affected children's food choices and food preferences.<h4>Design</h4>Experimental between-subjects design.<h4>Setting</h4>Four elementary schools in Portugal were investigated.<h4>Participants</h4>Children (aged 4-8 years; n = 142) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: a comparison group (n = 73) was exposed to cartoons with no reference to food and an intervention group (n = 69) was exposed to cartoons with healthy eating messages. After viewing, each child was given the opportunity to eat ad libitum for 10 minutes from a small selection of snack foods.<h4>Main outcome measure</h4>Number of healthy and unhealthy food items chosen. Food preferences were measured using an adapted version of the Leeds Food Preference Checklist.<h4>Analysis</h4>Generalized linear models were used to test for differences between groups. Results were considered significant at P ≤ .05.<h4>Results</h4>Children in the experimental group chose significantly more healthy food items than did those in the comparison group (B = -.600; SE = .19; P < .05).<h4>Conclusions and implications</h4>Future studies may address the effect of prolonged exposure to healthy eating cartoons. Cartoons can be used to promote healthy food choices and can be a part of health promotion campaigns.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: cartoon show, children, food choices, food preferences, healthy eating promotion
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 11 Jan 2018 14:33
Last Modified: 03 Feb 2024 09:59
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneb.2017.12.015
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3015865