Popular Characters Can Help Kids Eat Healthy Foods Too TUESDAY,
Aug. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Superheroes and other popular kids'
characters have been used to sell junk food, candy and other
sugary treats to children for decades, but new research shows
they also can be used to promote healthier eating habits. In a
new study, researchers found the strategy can be used in schools
to help students improve their nutrition. "Nutritionists and
school-lunch planners can turn the tables on children's poor
eating habits by adopting the same 'branding' tactic used by
junk-food marketers," study lead author Brian Wansink, professor
of marketing at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and
Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said in a
university news release. In conducting the study, the
researchers let children choose between cookies and apples. Some
children were offered plain apples and cookies. Others were told
to select either cookies or Elmo apples, which had stickers of
the popular Sesame Street charac