"Cartoons using overweight characters may encourage children to eat more," according to a Nutrition Action Review summary of a recent study. When children were shown a cartoon character before they got candy, children who saw an overweight character took more Hershey Kisses or cookies than children who were shown a normal-weight character. But if asked to think about things "that make you healthy" and to choose healthier pictures (say, milk over soda), the "characters had no impact on the number of cookies the kids ate."
The message? "Beware of subtle influences that make you--or your children--overeat."
*From the J. Consumer Pschy 2015: doi:10.1016, summarized in Nutrition Action Review Oct 2015
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