At first glance, today's blog post sounds like one more reason to despair about the health of our kids, thanks to the epidemic of childhood obesity. Fortunately, there's a silver lining, but only if parents choose to be smarter about the foods they buy for their kids.

For the record, what decorates that box of cereal -- images of superheroes, animated movie characters like Megamind, the Madagascar crew or Shrek and professional athletes (sorry folks, NASCAR drivers don't count as athletes) -- is more important than what's inside the box, according a recent study that examined the reactions of 80 children (ages 4-6) to four boxes of cereal, labeled either as Healthy Bits or Sugar Bits.

One box with each label was decorated with two popular characters from the 2006 Oscar-winning animated film Happy Feet, while the other two weren't, even though all four contained the same kind of cereal.

When given a choice, kids gravitated to the boxes adorned with the Happy Feet characters, and liked the cereal regardless if it was called healthy or sugar. What's more, children who were served cereal from the Sugar Bits penguin-free boxes were far less satisfied with its taste than the other groups, according to the study.

There are a pair of semi-reassuring silver linings, however:

• If kids gravitate to boxes decorated with animated characters, perhaps cereal makers should consider using them to promote low-sugar, high-fiber foods, experts say.
• In the absence of a familiar image or character, children preferred the taste of cereals with the Healthy Bits label, so storing healthy cereals in generic BPA-free containers could be a healthier, smarter option.

Sources:

Image source: Warner Bros. Pictures

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 165, No. 3, p. 229-234, March 2011

USA Today March 8, 2011

healthfinder.gov March 7, 2011