Junk food ads lead kids to consume more, says study
Posted on: 15/Aug/2016 5:45:35 PM
A new study has said that while junk food is directly responsible for health issues among children, it turns out that commercials for the same can be very damaging as well. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Kansas.
The researchers suggested that such advertisements on TV influence children to base their food choices on taste and not health. 23 children took part in the study. They were aged between 8 and 14 years. The participants rated 60 food items based on taste and health, as researchers noted their brain activity while watching food and non-food commercials.
Speaking about this, the researchers said, For brain analyses, our primary focus was on the brain region most active during reward valuation, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. During the brain scan, children were asked whether they wanted to eat the food items that were shown immediately after the commercials. We found that the ventromedial prefrontal cortices were more active after watching food commercials. We concluded that children value taste differently after watching such ads and make impulsive and unhealthy food choices.
