Memorizing fruit: The effect of a fruit memory-game on children's fruit intake

Abstract

Food cues of palatable food are omnipresent, thereby simulating the intake of unhealthy snack food among children. As a consequence, this might lead to a higher intake of energy-dense snacks and less fruit and vegetables, a habit that increases the risk of developing chronic diseases. The aim of this experimental study is to examine whether playing a memory game with fruit affects fruit intake among young children. We used a randomized between-subject design with 127 children (age: 7–12 y) who played a memory-game, containing either fruit (n = 64) or non-food products (n = 63). While playing the memory-game in a separate room in school during school hours, free intake of fruit (mandarins, apples, bananas, and grapes) was measured. Afterwards, the children completed self-report measures, and length and weight were assessed. The main finding is that playing a memory-game containing fruit increases overall fruit intake (P = 0.016). Children who played the fruit version of the memory-game ate more bananas (P = 0.015) and mandarins (P = 0.036) than children who played the non-food memory-game; no effects were found for apples (P > 0.05) and grapes (P > 0.05). The findings suggest that playing a memory-game with fruit stimulates fruit intake among young children. This is an important finding because children eat insufficient fruit, according to international standards, and more traditional health interventions have limited success. Healthy eating habits of children maintain when they become adults, making it important to stimulate fruit intake among children in an enjoyable way.Trial registration: Nederlands Trial Register TC = 5687

Promoting healthy foods in the new digital era: An experimental study on the effect of a popular versus fictitious ‘Insta-influencer’ on brand attitude and purchase intentions

“…One of the strengths of the current study is that we examined the in uence of a popular real t in uencer on the food consumption behavior of young people. Food marketing research has predominantly focused on the in uence of food advertising of unhealthy foods on eating behavior among children and adolescents (Boyland et al 2016;Folkvord and Van 't Riet, 2018;Folkvord et al 2016), while research examining the effects of food marketing for healthy foods is scarce Folkvord et al 2017Folkvord et al , 2018Folkvord et al , 2019a. Considering that a great number of people do not consume enough fruit and vegetables (Miller et al 2019), it is of great importance to examine the potential of food promotion techniques of healthier foods.…”

Investigating the Effects of Non-Branded Foods Placed in Cartoons on Children’s Food Choices through Type of Food, Modality and Age

“…However, we did not find previous studies of branded high nutritional value foods placed in video format, as this type of food is usually presented as non-branded. Findings about non-branded high nutritional value food placements are not conclusive: although some studies found effects on children's choices [24] and intake [20], most of the previous literature did not [8,21,23]. In a recent study by Binder, Naderer, and Matthes (2019) [38], it was found that a non-branded high nutritional value food (raspberries) did not trigger effects on behavioral responses in children aged 6-10 years.…”

“…Additionally, although the studies that analyze the effects of food placements are mostly about branded foods, several studies about non-branded food placements can also be found. To our knowledge, approximately half of the studies about the effectiveness of non-branded food placements have focused on foods placed in videogames [18][19][20][21], whereas the other half have focused on video format, such as cartoons or TV shows [8,[22][23][24]. Regarding the studies that analyze non-branded foods placed in cartoons, we only found one study that investigated the influence of type of food on children's behavior [8].…”

The Effect of the Promotion of Vegetables by a Social Influencer on Adolescents’ Subsequent Vegetable Intake: A Pilot Study

“…Individual susceptibility to advertising messages effects may in particular be considered when it comes to influencer marketing by social influencers, as these social influencers specifically design their messages for existing community of engaged and young followers, thereby reducing their persuasion knowledge activation and increasing the parasocial interaction, leading to a more positive attitude towards the advertised product and increasing purchase intentions [40][41][42]. In addition, promotion activities by peer-aged influencers are perceived as more credible and authentic because adolescents believe they will receive an honest advice or opinions about certain brands or products.…”