Thursday, July 16, 2015

News: Watch Out, Minions – Fat Cartoon Characters Make Kids Overeat

After watching overweight cartoon characters — or even characters that only seem overweight because they're round or egg-shaped — kids may be more likely to overindulge on junk food.

In the first-of-its-kind study, 300 eight- to thirteen-year-old children in Colorado watched “ovoid” cartoon characters before taking a cookie taste test.

It was found that they consumed half as many cookies if they were exposed to healthier-looking cartoon characters, or no cartoons at all.

But if, before heading to the cookie taste test, the kids took a very short quiz on healthy behaviors, they ate a lot less junk overall. So the trick is: how do we help our kids draw upon their health knowledge before they make the decision to eat?
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News: Watch Out, Minions – Fat Cartoon Characters Make Kids Overeat
After watching overweight cartoon characters — or even characters that only seem overweight because they're round or egg-shaped — kids may be more likely to overindulge on junk food.

In the first-of-its-kind study, 300 eight- to thirteen-year-old children in Colorado watched “ovoid” cartoon characters before taking a cookie taste test.

It was found that they consumed half as many cookies if they were exposed to healthier-looking cartoon characters, or no cartoons at all.

But if, before heading to the cookie taste test, the kids took a very short quiz on healthy behaviors, they ate a lot less junk overall. So the trick is: how do we help our kids draw upon their health knowledge before they make the decision to eat?
Nicholas English
Content Manager of About.com Health
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