Kids who play "advergames", created by food manufacturers to
market their products, may eat more, and eat more junk food. In
a study by Dutch researchers, the kids chose junk food even when
the game featured fruit or other healthful choices. Some kids
can't get enough of online games where they can pretend to run a
candy factory or decorate cakes. But children who play with
these games may eat more, and eat more junk food, even if the
game features fruit or other healthful choices, according to new
research. Food industry critics have long bemoaned the fact that
many popular food games for computers and other devices are
actually "advergames", created by food manufacturers to market
their products. Some argue marketing junk food to kids is
unethical, even if it's through tiny bits of entertainment
software. To find out if advergames affect how children eat,
Dutch researchers had 8- to 10-year-olds play either a game that
featured a popular brand of candy, or one that featured fruit.
Another group of children