By the same theory it seems to work on your kids and grandkids, it very well could work for adults too. In the day and age of catchy ad campaigns and constant changes in technology, it’s no doubt that in order to stay on the cutting edge, you need to have an open mind. But as a new study suggests, messing with some very traditional names could mean a greater consumption of specific foods that certain populations might have previously considered unappetizing.
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Why Mess With the Names of Healthy Food?
It’s no big secret that when you crack out a fruits and vegetable tray in hopes your kids or grandkids will be enticed might be met with less than a silent appreciation, but a new study out of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab tested a large group of children to see if a simple play on words helped them eat their fruits and vegetables with greater ease.
The results were intriguing as they showed that adding catchy words incorporating the names of fruits and vegetables made the kids considerably more likely to eat them.
Researchers came up with their own versions of catchy child-friendly names for fruits and vegetables like ‘X-Ray Vision Carrots’ and ‘Power Punch Broccoli’ and then named the same items as ‘Food of the Day.’
Fruits and Vegetables – More Eaten With New Names!
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Experts and researchers alike were overwhelmed, for one school 66% of the vegetables that were labeled with the catchy name where eating. Less than half that (only 32%) ate from the ‘Food of the Day’ batch.
Researchers say that the reasoning why this is happening is pretty simple. With children finding out pretty quickly that healthy food doesn’t always taste good, they need a little more of an incentive that keeps their age bracket in mind. The fun names given the fruits and vegetables a more ‘fun’ association. The experts are saying that not only could this theory work with kids, but the implications on the use of catchy phrasing surrounding unappetizing food could mean impressive things for the adult population as well.
The Cornell research results are not the only research study to make the suggestion, but they have concluded that it is these sorts of simple changes that could mean a youthful population with more of an affinity towards healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, all with a quick and inexpensive method of attack.
