The incidence rate of obese children has tripled over the past 30 years, and food advertising is considered one of the factors contributing to this trend.
Every year, in the US alone, companies spend more than $ 10 billion on advertising food and drink for children; 98% of products whose television ads are intended for children are high in fat, sugar, or salt. In conducting a new study, scientists used neuroimaging to study the effect of food logos on obese children and on healthy children.
All 20 children who participated in the study were shown 60 familiar food logos and 60 non-food product logos, and researchers using functional magnetic resonance imaging recorded how each of their brains responded to each logo. Half of the children were obese, meaning their average body mass index (BMI) was 97.9. In children with a healthy weight, the average BMI was 50.
Researchers found that when looking at food logos, reward-related brain regions were more active in obese children. And the areas of the brain associated with self-control were more active in children with a healthy weight.
In general, children with a healthy weight themselves reported greater self-control, which was not typical for children with obesity. This suggests that in certain situations, people with a healthy weight are more active in areas of the brain associated with control than people with obesity.
The study provides preliminary evidence that obese children may be more susceptible to the effects of food advertising. Scientists see a way out of this situation in teaching children self-control, which can lead to greater success in weight loss.
