Preschoolers Say McDonald's Carrots Taste Best

The marketing of obesity-friendly foods may have the strongest effect on preschool aged children, shows a study from the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers asked 63 children between the ages of three and five to play a "tasting game" in which they tried identical foods and found that some carrots (and hamburgers and chicken nuggets) just tasted better than others--particularly if they were wrapped in McDonald's packaging rather than plain wrappers. Meanwhile, parents answered questionnaires about the number of television sets in the house and the children's bedroom, how often they ate at McDonald's and whether there were any McDonald's toys in the house.

According to the report, "children were significantly more likely to prefer the taste of a food or drink if they thought it was from McDonald's for 4 of 5 comparisons." Children chose McDonald's-packaged foods at rates of 48 percent vs. 37 percent for hamburgers, 59 percent vs. 18 percent for chicken nuggets, 77 percent vs. 13 percent for french fries, 61 percent vs. 21 percent for milk or apple juice and 54 percent vs. 23 percent for carrots. Moreover, children's preferences for McDonald's food steadily increased with the number of televisions in their household and how often they ate at McDonald's, with children from households with four or more televisions who ate at the restaurant two to three times per week showing the strongest preference.

While the experiment was performed on low-income children, researchers say they do not believe results would vary drastically for other children.

Full Text: Effects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children's Taste Preferences