FitDay writes that fast food nutrition should make up a minimal part of a healthy diet.
Fast foods and junk foods have been found to be high in fat, sodium and sugar, all of which can lead to obesity and a range of attendant health problems, which includes diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. On March 8, 2013, The University of Liverpool reported in a news release, Celebrity endorsement encourages children to eat junk food.
Celebrity endorsement of a food product encourages children to eat more of the endorsed product, according to a study by the University of Liverpool. This study also found that children were prompted to eat more of the endorsed product when they saw the celebrity on TV in a different context. Celebrity endorsement has been used as an effective method of creating value, recognition and credibility for a brand, and so celebrities are often used in television advertising to induce children to try foods. The study found that although two bowls contained Walkers crisps, after watching a Gary Lineker advert or the general TV footage of Gary Lineker, the children in the study ate considerably more of the Walkers crisps than the children who watched the other snack food advert or the toy advert. Gary Linekar is a former England international soccer player.
Dr. Emma Boyland, from the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society who led the research, has said, “This is the first study to show the powerful effects of celebrity endorsement – in both a TV advertising and a non-food context – on the choice and intake of the endorsed snack product over the same product offered as a non-branded snack item." Dr. Boyland has also said, “This research has consequences for the use of celebrities, and in particular sports stars, in advertising unhealthy or High Fat Salt and Sugar (HFSS) products. If celebrity endorsement of HFSS products continues and their appearance in other contexts prompts unhealthy food intake then this would mean that the more prominent the celebrity the more detrimental the effects on children’s diets.”
