Advertisements of Junk Food Make Children Binge on Unhealthy Snacks : Study

Internet games influence junk eating habits of young children, according to a study.

It is known that increasing usage of television, video games and spending time in front of the computer has contributed to the surging incidence of childhood obesity and other health conditions.

Researchers from Radboud University Nijmegen in Netherland have now found that advertisements of candy, sweets and junk in the media makes children binge on unhealthy food.

The experts found that impulsive children were more likely to indulge in unhealthy eating despite being lured with a reward for controlling their urges.

"Impulsive children have insufficient inhibitory behavioral control, and food advertisers try to influence eating behavior, thereby making it more difficult for especially impulsive children to self-regulate their food intake," Frans Folkvord, study author and researcher from the Radboud University Nijmegen told Reuters News.

The study involved about 260 children aged between seven and 10 from primary schools across the Netherlands. The participants were asked to play an online memory game called "advergames" for five minutes with a bowlful of candies and chocolate milk sweets.

The subjects were divided in two groups- a group that played the game with a logo and brand name of a candy appearing on either sides of the cards and rest had toy names and logos on their cards. The researchers also surveyed the participants to note their level of impulsivity.

Almost, 39 percent of the participants were impulsive.

Their analysis revealed that children who played the game with candy logo consumed more chocolates than those who played with toy names and pictures on the card. The overall caloric intake of children from both groups was measured to be 101 and 33 calories, respectively.  

Furthermore, it was observed that instructing children to avoid sweets while playing in return for a reward prompted them to eat more. Impulsive kids consumed the same number of candies irrespective of being offered the inhibition reward.

The authors believe these results can help parents monitor media usage in adolescents and young children to curb the chances of obesity and excess weight gain. They also urge food manufacturing organizations to regulate advertising junk and snacks on the television and other forms of media to encourage healthy eating in children.

"Children as old as 15 do not recognize that advergames are adverts. Parents should explain to their children why food companies advertise their products and brands, helping them to become more critical, and subsequently become less susceptible," Folkvord told Reuters News.

More information is available online in the journal Pediatrics.

© MD News Daily.