Listen to the experts? Kids actually do
Here’s what happens when kids are reasoned with about their food choices
Most kids don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. On the other hand, they’re all too happy to eat junk food, candy and sweetened drinks. The allure of sweet foods is understandable. We humans have an innate preference for sweet flavor and high-calorie foods – a fondness that served us well a long long time ago when food was scarce and we had to hunt and gather it. It’s biological.
But it’s not just the inborn preference that’s leading kids to the cookie jar. Kids also see lots of unhealthy food in media content directed at them, and marketers present these unhealthy foods in a way that’s cleverly persuasive. Food products are placed in entertainment directed to kids, in ads online, on billboards, in games and practically everywhere their eyes go.
So on one hand, parents might be modeling healthy eating behavior and placing fresh produce on the counter, yet on the other, kids see celebrities, athletes and cartoon heroes drinking soda and eating candy bars. Do parents and the people who care about kids’ health even have a chance against cute animals pushing the opposite message?
Whose behavior do kids most emulate?
Kids imitate behaviors encountered in real life, as well at what they see on screens and in fictitious characters.
A new study in the journal Appetite tests three social endorsers making an argument for fruit. Based on previous studies, endorsers are categorized as either experts (such as a dietician or medical doctor), celebrities (famous or admired people) or peers (a child-like character).
The study recruited 340 6-11 year olds through schools. Kids were shown a cartoon promoting grapes and mandarins, in which the presenter was either an expert (physician), a celebrity (actress or football player) or a child. The arguments for eating fruit were the same in all conditions, and were things like: “it is important to eat a lot of fruits because they help you stay fit,” and “to stay healthy, it is important to eat a lot of healthy foods, such as grapes.” A control group saw no videos.
After viewing the cartoon (or no cartoon in the control group), the kids could select just one of four types of snacks: grapes, mandarins (both appearing in the video), fruit gummies and fruit chews. These snacks were chosen because they are similar in size, shape and color to the fruit.
And the results: The kids in the expert condition – those who saw a doctor making an argument for eating fruit – selected fruit over candy significantly more than in the celebrity, peer and control groups.
The authors conclude that the effectiveness of a health-related message depends on the source who’s presenting the information, and experts perform better than other social endorsers.
Ads sell. That’s why companies spend so much money on them, and most of the marketing efforts targeted at our kids promote junk foods and sugary drinks.
But persuasion and reasoning work, too. Kids do care about their health, weight and fitness. And this is where input from experts, as well as the parties interested in kids’ health – parents, family and friends – come in. Kids are in front of screens like never before due to Covid-19, so inserting reasoned nutrition public service announcements can help.
And what works best, in my experience, as well as according to the scientific literature, is setting an example. Eat your fruits and vegetables, show genuine excitement for these truly delicious foods, and kids will – eventually – follow.
Dr. Ayala
“Kids are in front of screens like never before due to Covid-19, so inserting reasoned nutrition public service announcements can help.”