A Higher Body Mass Index Linked to Recognising Food Brands

Young children who recognise food name brands, tend to eat items leading to their high body mass index.

According to a new study,a higher body mass index is linked to the ability of young children in recognising food brands.They tend to eat items that put them at a risk of obesity later in life.

The scientists sought to determine if food //brand recognition alone has any relevance for preschooler weight status, and if family and other variables are the primary sources of being overweight.

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body mass index (BMI) is a simple tool that is generally used to estimate the total amount of body fat.

‘Food brand recognition puts young children at a risk of a higher body mass index.’

The study will be published in journal Appetite.The sample of 247 preschoolers, whose average age was 4.5 years, were measured for BMI and analysed for recognition and recall indicators for a selection of 30 U.S. food brands. The most recognized among the brands was Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (96 percent).

Since there were three choices of foods to match with each brand logo, the children could get the answer right one-third of the time just by guessing. Even the least recognized brand (SpaghettiOs) was recognized 41 percent of the time, which was significantly greater than the chance rate.

The study showed that overweight children recognized 10 food items more often than healthy-weight children: M&M's, Cocoa Puffs, Keebler cookies, Pringles potato chips, Rice Krispies, Cap'n Crunch, Coca-Cola, Planter's peanuts, KFC and Hamburger Helper.

Mantra to Prevent Childhood Obesity � Vigorous Physical Activity
Being physically very active is the mantra to prevent pediatric obesity rather than concentrating efforts at restricting energy consumption.

McDonald's registered the highest recall percentage (62 percent) among overweight children.

"It is interesting that despite very low recall rates for some foods, recognition rates were still high," said Kristen Harrison, U-M professor of communication studies and the study's lead author.

Fast Food Addiction in Teenagers
Food addiction is a growing threat among teenagers. Find out how to combat the problem with preventive tips and strategies for overcoming food addiction.

For example, the Keebler logo was recognized as matching with cookies (as opposed to potato chips or pretzels) by 86 percent of the kids surveyed, but only 1 percent were able to name the brand.

On the other hand, recall percentages for other brands (such as McDonald's, M&M's and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish) were relatively high, but still lower than their corresponding recognition rates.

Food Additives - Types Functions Miscellaneous Fast Foods Conclusions FAQs
A food additive is a non-nutritive substance added deliberately to any food product to improve its color, texture, flavor or shelf life

Parent BMI (higher), child race/ethnicity and child vocabulary percentile (lower) were all significantly associated with higher child BMI percentile.

Misattribution of brands often occurred among the children. Lucky Charms were called "Cheerios with candy," M&M's were called Skittles, Coca-Cola was called Dr. Pepper', McDonald's was called "Old McDonald's," the Pringles logo was called "Mustache Guy," Quaker oatmeal "Hatman Oatmeal," and Cap'n Crunch was identified as both "Captain America" and "Chaplain Crunch."

Source-ANI