Parents, take note! Don't let your child recognize food brands as it may cause high BMI

New Delhi: As per a new study, children who recognize food name brands often consume such items which leads to their high body mass index.

The findings also indicate that children often struggle with recalling details about food brands by misidentifying components with mascots and other fantasy characters that they are exposed to during the preschool years.

The study will be published in journal Appetite.The scientists sought to determine if food brand recognition alone has any relevance for preschooler weight status, and if family and other variables are the primary sources of being overweight.

The sample of 247 preschoolers, whose average age was 4.5 years, were measured for BMI and completed recognition and recall indicators for a selection of 30 U.S. food brands.

The most recognized among the brands was Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (96 percent). Since there were three choices of foods to match with each brand logo, the children could get the answer right one-third of the time just by guessing.

Even the least recognized brand (SpaghettiOs) was recognized 41 percent of the time, which was significantly greater than the chance rate.

The study showed that overweight children recognized 10 food items more often than healthy-weight children: M&M`s, Cocoa Puffs, Keebler cookies, Pringles potato chips, Rice Krispies, Cap`n Crunch, Coca-Cola, Planter`s peanuts, KFC and Hamburger Helper.McDonald`s registered the highest recall percentage (62 percent) among overweight children.

"It is interesting that despite very low recall rates for some foods, recognition rates were still high," said Kristen Harrison, U-M professor of communication studies and the study`s lead author.

(With ANI inputs)