"Healthy Kids Meals" Fast Food Ads Confuse Children

Advertisements for fast food healthy kid-meal alternatives such as apple slices are being misinterpreted by the young children they are intended for, according to a recent study.

The study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, investigated how children under the age of ten interpreted images of "healthy choice options" made available as alternatives to fried food in kids meals.

Big name fast food companies such a Burger King and McDonalds introduced healthy alternative to soda and French fries in children's meals back in 2010, introducing various fruit and milk options that could be included in a standard "kid's meal." Advertising campaigns promoting these options were claimed by the companies to help emphasize healthy eating habits among children.

However, in an assessment of children three to seven years old, researcher found that over three fourths of children shown images from these advertisements mistook a healthy option as fried food.

According to the study, conducted by the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, only ten children out of 99 subjects were able to identify apples in a picture of a Burger King kids meal complete with a bottle of milk and apple slices. Without fail, all 89 other children identified Burger King's "apple fries" as French fries. In one case, a child even called the slices "French fries in an apple bad" as the container the fries come in is labeled with the image of a red apple. MacDonald's failed better in the apple test, with 80 percent of the participants proving able to identify the healthy choice.

However, in the case of milk, only 51 children were able to identify the beverage, a good portion of the other children mistaking it for soda. Burger kind fared only slightly better, with 70 percent of the children proving able to correctly identify the milk.

According to the authors of the study, three of the four healthy choices tested were proven to be inadequately presented to their target audience, with only McDonalds apple slices proving identifiable by young children.

Authors of the study now urge the Federal Trade Commission and the Foods and Drug Administration to take action against the companies cited in the study, raising concerns that these "misleading depictions" of healthy products are causing children to associate healthy choices with unhealthy foods.

As of now, no action has been taken against either fast-food chain.

The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics on March 31.

A video depicting the apple trial can be found with a recent Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center press release.