Cartoon Characters Influence What Kids Eat

Any parent who has ever gone to the grocery store with a young child knows the horrors of what happens when they see their favorite junk food. Their eyes grow wide, their bottom lip quivers and their sweet little voices scream out, "Please, Please, Please!" as if they would just DIE if you don’t let them put this one sugary snack in the cart.
But the next time your child begs and pleads for his or her favorite junk food, know this: Those cartoon characters that appear on snack packaging could be drawing them into a sugary marketing trap.
Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity conducted a study on 40 children ages 4 to 6. When researchers put the exact same food items into different packages, about 50 percent of the kids claimed that the snacks from packaging decorated with Dora the Explorer, Shrek and Scooby-Doo actually tasted better than snacks from bland or plain packaging.
Researchers also found that when given a choice, two-thirds of the kids preferred a snack with images of cartoon celebrities on the front.
Children recognize these characters as lovable, positive superstars from their favorite TV shows and movies. What James Dean was to cigarettes Shrek is now to gummies.
So what does this mean for your child? Scooby is more likely to be found on sugary junk food than on a bag of carrots, which could possibly be influencing your child’s food selection.
CNN.com reported that studies on the effects of marketing to children are few and far between. The American Psychological Association and other organizations have called for the elimination of all marketing of food products to children.

One franchise recognized the powerful consequences of marketing to kids and took action to fix it.
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In 2005, rumors surfaced that the popular children’s TV show Sesame Street was going to turn one of its most beloved Muppet characters, Cookie Monster, into Veggie Monster. PBS and show producers claimed they understood how their programming could influence children. And with child obesity becoming an epidemic, they decided to make Cookie Monster a healthier role model.
Although Cookie Monster was allowed to keep his namesake in the end, he began to incorporate fruits and vegetables into his diet all to the tune of his new song, "A Cookie is a Sometime Food."
According to Federal Trade Commission data cited in the study, U.S. food and beverage companies spend more than $1.6 billion a year to grab children's attention.
This article is taken from- http://news.discovery.com/human/cartoon-characters-influence-what-kids-eat.html

Kids' Favorite Foods Made Healthy

Children with diabetes are like children without diabetes; some will happily eat what's put before them and others are picky (finicky, fussy-you supply your own word) and dinnertime becomes a battlefield. While it is true that the food a diabetic child eats must balance out with the insulin that's given, it's also true that these days anyone with diabetes has more choices than ever when it comes to their meal plan. Diabetes is a family disease, so it is important to have only healthy food in the fridge and pantry and for everyone to sit down at the table to eat the same meal. With that in mind, we decided to feature kid-friendly recipes this month in this section that are sure to please every member of the family.

In researching for recipe ideas that are kid-friendly, we came across a diabetes site that will be of great interest to parents of children with diabetes, as well as anyone who has diabetes. The site is www.kraftdiabeticchoices.com and is sponsored by Kraft Foods. With the expertise of the Kraft Kitchens for its recipes and tips, it's a site that you'll want to visit frequently. Special sections include one for parents of diabetic children, which includes family-friendly recipes and tips. A personalized meal planner, a fitness planner, and logs for keeping records of medication/insulin, and other resources for managing diabetes is available for individuals 18 years and older. A sister web site, www.comidakraft.com/diabetes features information in Spanish to provide food ideas and information to Hispanics, who comprise 15 percent of the diabetic community here in the U.S. [Note: this new website will launch September 3; www.kraftdiabeteschoices.com will link to this site, but there will no longer be Spanish content on the kraftdiabeticchoices.com site per se.]
Make food preparation and shopping a family project when you can. Ask for suggestions for meals and try to follow through, if not just then, on a day when time allows. Remember a lot of your child's responses will rely on your concept of his/her diabetes and its severity. Remembering our own children's favorite foods, in talking with young children and their parents, and in response to your e-mails asking for specific recipes, we decided that macaroni & cheese, chicken nuggets, and enchiladas are amongst the most popular of kid's meals. From a health standpoint, however, these dishes made from traditional recipes are loaded with calories and fat.
We were delighted when we looked at the diabetic recipes posted on Kraft's site, that they had already "made-over" recipes for these three dishes that are reduced fat (Down Home Macaroni & Cheese) or low-fat (Homemade Chicken Nuggets and Cheesy Enchiladas). Judging by the comments posted by people who've tried the recipes, they are certain to please even your most finicky youngster. We appreciate Kraft's willingness to share these recipes with you on our website.
For more information......... http://www.diabetic-lifestyle.com/articles/sep02_fkids_1.htm