Effects of Fast-Food Branding on Children’s Taste Preferences

Abstract

Health authorities and public communities state that fast-food marketing is the most recognized potent force for contribution to childhood obesity. Much research has focused on the influence of television commercials on children’s eating behaviours, thus this study explore the effect of fast-food branding on children’s taste preferences. Sixty preschool children between three and six years old (M = 4.6, SD = 1.2) were grouped into Non-obese, Obese and overweight, according to their BMI values based on WHO classification. The study was divided into two stages. The initial stage comprised of a survey distributed to parents collecting information on family’s fast-food consumption habits. The second stage was an experiment designed to determine the effects of food packaging. Participants tasted three pairs of identical foods (burgers, nuggets and carrots) presented in either popular fast food brand or neutral unbranded packaging before indicating whether the two tasted the same, or if one tasted better. Results reviewed that 63.3% of the participants
preferred food presented in popular brand packaging. Furthermore, no differences were found between the groups across three food products [χ² (2, n= 60), p>.05]. Irrespective of the child’s weight status, food branding has an influential role on children’s food choice. Given that most marketed food is high in sugar and fat, whether similar marketing strategy could be used to brand more nutritious products should be investigated. Findings imply that advocates should use a behavioural marketing approach to brand the incentives of eating fruits and vegetables among children.