Children who watch seemingly overweight cartoon characters are more likely to consume low-nutrition, high-calorie foods such as cookies and candy, according to a first-of-its-kind study.
The study, led by the University of Colorado Boulder, shows that kids are responsive to the apparent bodyweight of cartoon characters like the aptly named Grimace, a rotund, milkshake-loving creature created by McDonald's restaurant in the 1970s.
Children tend to perceive ovoid, or egg-shaped, characters as overweight even though the creatures are imaginary, the study found.
"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," said Margaret C Campbell, marketing professor at CU-Boulder's Leeds School of Business and lead author of the study.
"But surprisingly, they apply typically human standards to cartoon creatures - creatures for which there isn't a real baseline," said Campbell.
In addition, seeing ovoid cartoon characters can influence children to eat more unhealthy food, according to the study.
"They have a tendency to eat almost twice as much indulgent food as kids who are exposed to perceived healthier looking cartoon characters or no characters at all," said Campbell.
The inclination to eat more junk food was curtailed, however, when kids in the study first had the opportunity to summon their previously learned health knowledge.
Before looking at the ovoid cartoon character and then taking a cookie taste-test, the children's health knowledge was activated when they were asked to choose the healthiest option represented in six pairs of pictures and words - such as getting your sleep versus watching TV, soda versus milk and playing inside versus playing outside - which led to lighter cookie consumption.
"This is key information we should continue to explore," said Campbell.
"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," Campbell said.
The findings - gathered from just over 300 participants in three age groups averaging 8, 12 and 13 years old - have implications for marketers as well as parents navigating a world where children encounter cartoon characters in a variety of media, from books to graphic novels, TV shows, video games, movies and more, researchers said.
The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
