Children’s Food Choices and Media Research
September is National Fruits & Veggies Month (NFVM)®. NFVM is a health initiative that aims to help Americans, adults and children alike improve their health by increasing produce consumption. NFVM collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to educate consumers about the health advantages of fruits and vegetables, and to provide tips and tools for adding more to one’s diet. Research shows that media influences how children think about eating and make food choices. Below is a selection of articles from our database of research citations that highlight the relationship between children, eating habits, and media.
- How have the nutrition and marketing of kids’ foods changed over time?
A study comparing products from 2009 to 2017 finds that while nutrition did not improve over time, claims of nutrition and children-targeted images and themes increased significantly.
- Youth views on digital gaming and nutrition education
A 2019 survey of German youth shows poor knowledge of nutrition and high prevalence of digital gaming. Half of respondents expressed openness to learning more about nutrition in a gaming context.
- The effects of industry self-regulation on food advertising to children
A 2019 study demonstrates that, while a Canadian self-regulatory effort by food companies to address unhealthy food advertising to children did modestly improve the proportion of healthier foods in ads, the vast majority of advertised foods remained unhealthy and comparable with non-participating advertisers.
Also, below are some older articles from our legacy Database of Research (DoR):
- Can media affect eating habits?
A study of 3,000 teens demonstrates that the type of media used to provide nutritional information has an effect on changing eating behaviors.
- Advertising and snacking
Brand characters could influence preschoolers to select healthy snacks like fruit.
- Empty calories and food commercials
An examination of 96 hours of television demonstrates that advertised foods are high in sugar and fat, and low in essential nutrients.
- Eating habits start early
Adolescents who have healthy eating habits are more likely to become adults with healthy eating habits.