Food marketers have been blamed over and over for the rise in obesity among U.S. children. Television advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, toys and products with brand logos, and Internet web sites are just some of the channels used by marketers to reach kids and influence their food "wants" and purchases. In 2006 the Institute of Medicine concluded that, among children aged 2 to 11 years, television advertising influences food preferences and purchase requests for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, patterns that are linked to childhood obesity. And a recent study conducted at Georgetown University1 showed that advergames (online computer games developed specifically to promote a brand, often featuring logs and characters) that promote products of low nutritional value do lead to selection and consumption of less healthy foods and beverages.

While a number of organizations (Children's Advertising Review Unit of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission) are working to impose regulations on advertising to children, some educators and public health practitioners are actually giving the food marketers a little credit for their effective tactics and stealing some of their ideas!

After concluding that advergames do influence eating behaviors, the same researchers from Georgetown University tested whether playing an advergame that rewarded kids for having their computer character choose bananas and orange juice instead of cookies, chips, and soda, would promote healthier food choices and consumption patterns. Results showed that the children who played the healthy version of the game before selecting a snack were significantly more likely than those who played the unhealthy version to choose a banana and orange juice instead of potato chips and soda.

Clearly, children can be swayed to make healthy choices if the method of persuasion is right. So, why continue to educate kids with posters and worksheets when they are so much more excited about interactive games and other new media? Guess it comes down to dollars - marketers for large food companies have much larger budgets than government-funded social marketers!

Here are some free, health-promoting online games that you might encourage your children to play on a rainy day:

Do you have others to add?

1Pempek, T.A. (2009). Use of advertising to promote consumption of nutritious foods and beverages by low-income african american children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 163(7), 633-637.