In what extent can toy premiums promote healthy eating habits?: A study with school-age children

Abstract

Toy premiums, as well as other marketing tools, can be used to promote healthy eating habits on children. As children grow, their appreciation for healthy meals and toys decreases, however their enjoyment for collections increases. Thus, we would expect toy premiums to be ineffective or effective but to a lower extent on promoting healthy eating behaviors as children grow old. The study consisted on presenting children with one of three conditions: see an image of healthy food; see an image of a toy premium (non-collectible, collectible or superfluous collectible); or see a picture of healthy food paired with a toy premium. Afterwards, we measured children’s attitudes towards healthy food and toy premiums and their purchase intention of the healthy meal. As a result, pairing healthy food with toy premiums was not effective on promoting healthy eating behaviors, being the main reason the initial high attitude towards healthy. Additionally, no relevant differences on attitudes between younger and older children were found.