- Pupils more likely to eat healthy after seeing cartoon vegetable characters
- Marketing industry could be used for positive effect, researchers claim
- More celebrities than ever promote fatty snacks, such as Justin Timberlake
- 25% of boys and 33% of girls in the UK are classed as overweight or obese
Daniel Bates for MailOnline
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Marketing can have ‘positive and negative effects’ which could be harnessed for good, say researchers
Children can be convinced to eat their greens if they are advertised in the same way as junk food.
Pupils who were shown posters of cartoon vegetable characters at the school canteen were up to three times as likely to eat something from the salad bar.
Researchers said marketing can have ‘positive and negative effects’ and that the might of the advertising industry could be harnessed for good.
The findings come as more celebrities than ever advertise unhealthy food and drink, much of which is aimed at children.
Stars like Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey and Britney Spears and promoting fatty snacks that are making children and teens more overweight.
Lead researcher Andrew Hanks, a professor of human services at Ohio State University, carried out three experiments at 10 state schools in New York state.
In some schools they wrapped the bottom part of the salad bar with a banner depicting Super Sprowtz, a fictional cartoon team of fun-loving characters with super powers.
In other schools they played Super Sprowtz videos in the canteen, and in some more they tried both tactics.
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More celebrities than ever are promoting fatty snacks aimed at children which are making them more overweight, including Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears
In schools with the salad bar banners, the researchers saw 24 per cent of kids taking vegetables from the salad bars, almost double what they’d observed in the weeks leading up to the change.
In those schools that had characters on the salad bar and on video, veggie selection jumped from 10 per cent to almost 35 per cent.
The researchers saw no significant improvement in schools with videos alone said the study, which was published in the journal Pediatrics.
Professor Hanks said: ‘If we put the time and good resources into marketing healthy choices to kids, it can work’
Professor Hanks said: ‘If we put the time and good resources into marketing healthy choices to kids, it can work.
‘Marketing can have both positive and negative effects. But instead of avoiding it completely, we can harness the power of marketing to help us.’
Professor Hanks added that salad bars could be ‘met with more enthusiasm’ than a spoonful of cooked carrots put onto a lunch tray.
He said: ‘If we can encourage kids to take vegetables of their own accord, rather than have someone put it there for them, they’re much more likely to eat them.’
A study last month by New York University found that dozens of celebrities and pop stars endorse full calorie fizzy drinks such as Pepsi.
They include Beyonce, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Calvin Harris, Nicki Minaj, One Direction and Shakira.
In the UK 25 per cent of boys and 33 per cent of girls aged between two and 19 years are overweight or obese.
Former footballer Gary Lineker has been criticised for advertising Walker’s crisps despite being a sporting icon.
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