Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2016
Identifier
PMCID: PMC5242233 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.06.067
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate how food commercials influence children's food choices.
STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-three children ages 8-14 years provided taste and health ratings for 60 food items. Subsequently, these children were scanned with the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging while making food choices (ie, "eat" or "not eat") after watching food and nonfood television commercials.
RESULTS: Our results show that watching food commercials changes the way children consider the importance of taste when making food choices. Children did not use health values for their food choices, indicating children's decisions were largely driven by hedonic, immediate rewards (ie, "tastiness"); however, children placed significantly more importance on taste after watching food commercials compared with nonfood commercials. This change was accompanied by faster decision times during food commercial trials. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a reward valuation brain region, showed increased activity during food choices after watching food commercials compared with after watching nonfood commercials.
CONCLUSION: Overall, our results suggest watching food commercials before making food choices may bias children's decisions based solely on taste, and that food marketing may systematically alter the psychological and neurobiologic mechanisms of children's food decisions.
Journal Title
The Journal of pediatrics
Volume
177
First Page
27
Last Page
32
MeSH Keywords
Adolescent; Advertising as Topic; Child; Female; Food; Food Preferences; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Prefrontal Cortex; Television
Keywords
advertising; brain imaging; decision-making; fMRI; food choices; food marketing; ventromedial prefrontal cortex; TV
Recommended Citation
Bruce AS, Pruitt SW, Ha OR, et al. The Influence of Televised Food Commercials on Children's Food Choices: Evidence from Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex Activations. J Pediatr. 2016;177:27-32.e1. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.06.067
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons
Comments
Grant support