The 30-second effect: An experiment revealing the impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers

Objective To examine whether televised food commercials influence preschool children's food preferences. Design In this randomized, controlled trial, preschool children viewed a vi deotape of a popular children's cartoon either with or without embedded com mercials. Children were then asked to identify their preferences from pairs of similar products, one of which was advertised in the videotape with emb edded commercials. Preschoolers' parents were interviewed to determine chil dren's demographic characteristics and media use patterns. Subjects Forty-six 2- to 6-year-olds from a Head Start program in northern California. Statistical analyses For demographic and media use characteristics, univari ate data were examined and Student t and chi (2) tests were used to test fo r differences between the control and treatment groups. We calculated the C ochran Q statistic to assess whether the proportion of those choosing adver tised food items was significantly higher in the treatment group than in th e control group. Results Children exposed to the videotape with embedded commercials were si gnificantly more likely to choose the advertised items than children who sa w the same videotape without commercials (Q(diff) = 8.13, df=1, P < .01). Conclusions/applications Even brief exposures to televised food commercials can influence preschool children's food preferences. Nutritionists and hea lth educators should advise parents to limit their preschooler's exposure t o television advertisements. Furthermore, advocates should raise the public policy issue of advertising and young children, especially given the recen t epidemic of childhood obesity and the ever-changing media environment.