Study: Kids Prefer Cartoon Packaging

Any parent worth their refrigerator magnets is keenly aware of the inevitable battles that can occur in the grocery store when a child sees a beloved cartoon character gracing the carton of a particular food. 

But there’s now a new study that confirms what parents already know:  food presented in packages with their favorite characters are perceived as “tastier” than foods with plain packaging.

Study Details

Christina Roberto, a doctoral student working for the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, CT observed 40 preschoolers over two visits at several local child care centers.  Over the course of the visits, the kids were presented with three types of food:  low nutrient/low energy graham crackers, low nutrient/high energy gummy fruit snacks, and high nutrient/low energy baby carrots.

The bottom line of the study is that the preschoolers invariably preferred foods that were packaged with one of three of their favorite characters:  Dora the Explorer, Shrek and Scooby Doo.

Implications for Childhood Obesity

Roberto’s conclusion at the end of the day is that manufacturers need to be accountable for the kinds of packaging they put on foods that are unhealthy, citing a childhood obesity rate that has doubled since the 1970s.

Her assessment is spot on.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17% of children from 2-19 years of age are obese.  These children and adolescents already display certain cardiovascular risk factors, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes.

In fact, Type 2 diabetes used to be called “adult onset diabetes,” but with the increase in the number of children who have the disease, the name has been changed to reflect the trend.

Just as troubling is the fact that an estimated 80% of kids who were overweight from 10-15 years of age are obese at the age of 25, while 25% of obese adults were overweight as children (CDC).