A new study about childhood obesity, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, claims that fat cartoon characters can trigger eating and body image problems in children.
The study, conducted at Colorado State University, said that children, who are often exposed to plump and chubby cartoon characters, may easily develop indulgences in food.
"Overall, our results show that cartoon characters influence kids’ eating behavior. Overweight characters can increase the amount of indulgent food that kids choose and eat," the study notes via Elsevier.
The study found that these children, who regularly watch cartoons with overweight characters, eat twice as much of indulgent and high-calorie food compared to the kids who prefer watching cartoon characters with normal body weight. The study also stated that perceptive children often see egg-shaped characters as overweight, despite these characters being imaginary.
"Because research like this is new -- looking at kids and stereotyping particularly of cartoon characters -- we weren't sure whether kids would be aware of bodyweight norms. But surprisingly, they apply typically human standards to cartoon creatures -- creatures for which there isn't a real baseline," said Margaret C. Cambell, one of the study's authors from Leeds School of Business, according to the University of Colorado's News Center.
The researchers had 300 participants from ages 6 to 14, who were asked to watch different cartoons with both normal and overweight characters. They were also provided with high-energy, low-nutrient food. The researchers saw that the children were more indulgent of eating these foods after watching the fat characters.
However, in another round, the children's choices were modified after the researchers asked them to choose the healthiest option from sets of pictures. This apparently stimulated their health knowledge and triggered fewer indulgences after watching the cartoons.
The study's results are also applicable for food companies that make and advertise these products. It is the researchers' hope that they bear more responsibility when marketing these to children.
To parents, Campbell had a suggestion, "Kids don't necessarily draw upon previous knowledge when they're making decisions. But perhaps if we're able to help trigger their health knowledge with a quiz just as they're about to select lunch at school, for instance, they'll choose the more nutritious foods," she said in the report.
Further, the professor recommended that parents should be careful to associate food with cartoon characters, "as opposed to associating food with nutrition and the family structure," according to Daily Mail. To counteract the negative influences they see in the cartoon series, parents must also constantly remind their kids to do other activities and make healthier choices when it comes to eating.
