In the 1930s, Popeye the Sailor Man came to life with his unwieldy forearms, trusty pipe, and penchant for cans of spinach. The immense popularity of this salty sailor probably helped to persuade a few children to give spinach a try. But not until a recent study did we know just how much branded advertising can encourage children to eat their spinach… and other vegetables.
Following the lead of Popeye, Hanks et al. tested the utilization of branded media to popularize vegetables, and their results are surprising. (peds.2015-1720) Utilizing branded media in elementary schools doubled or tripled consumption of vegetables.
Ten large, urban elementary schools were randomized to either a control group or one of three interventions. One experimental group had large vinyl banners installed on the salad bar. The banners displayed vegetables with “human attributes such as arms, legs, and a mouth, as well as super human strength.” A second experimental group installed a flat screen television next to the salad bar and played short video segments in which the same vegetable characters delivered “nutrition education messages.” The third experimental group had both banners and televisions.
Simply installing the vinyl banners nearly doubled consumption of vegetable from 12.6% to 24%. When television and the banner were both utilized, vegetable consumption more than tripled (10.2% to 34.6%). Granted, some of this bump may have been related to the novelty of the banners and televisions, and it is uncertain if these results will be sustainable over time. However, this already seems much more effective than many of the tools we have as a pediatricians and parents. In the adult medicine world, the USPSTF cannot find enough evidence of benefit to strongly recommend routine counseling of patients regarding healthy diet and physical activity. My gut tells me that pediatrics is not far ahead.
On a daily basis, our children are bombarded with branded media that encourages them to adopt ideals and make choices that keep parents awake at night. We all know intuitively that our tools as pediatricians and parents are limited. This study provides us with more hope that we might be able to fight back in some small way.
