Selling Fruits/Veggies to Kids

[Guest guest]

http://www.latimes.com/news/health/20000228/t000019131.html

 

Monday, February 28, 2000

 

Not Even Way Cool Can Sell Fruits and Vegetables

 

By ROSIE MESTEL

 

Telling kids to eat carrots instead of cookies usually

just draws the nutritional, and family, battle lines.

But now folks at the Children's Nutrition Center,

which has ties to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,

are hard at work figuring out ways to get that

eat-more-fruits-and-vegetables message across in a

more positive fashion.

 

As part of a multi-pronged effort, the Houston

researchers have developed an action-packed video game

to encourage healthy eating in elementary school kids.

It's called Squire's Quest! In the game, the goal is

to become a knight by bravely defending the kingdom of

Five-a-Lot (as in Camelot, and five-servings-a-day)

from invaders who are trying to destroy the realm's

fruits and vegetables. As the squires defend, they

also learn lots of useful facts about the nutritional

benefits of fruits, veggies and 100% fruit juices.

 

Driving home with my 10-year-old, I asked her whether

this approach would encourage her to improve her

eating habits. I regret to say that she wrinkled her

nose and declared: " I think no kid in their right mind

would actually want that video game. " We concluded it

was probably targeting a younger demographic. (And, of

course, we haven't seen this game; perhaps it's

captivating.) So what game would interest older, more

worldly-wise kids? One with more shooting and fewer

vegetables, she suggested, cynically.

 

" But what if the Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears

appeared on TV and told you that eating broccoli was

really, really cool? " I asked.

 

No dice.

 

" If I knew it was an ad, then I'd know they were

getting paid piles and piles of money to do it, " she

countered.

 

She'd be much more convinced, she said, by a

documentary--one, say, that followed a supermodel

around (preferably with hidden cameras to ensure

candor) and showed the model eating right (if, indeed,

such people eat at all). She's been motivated herself,

she says, by the heroine of a book ( " Clueless 2, "

spun off from the movie) who eats fruits and

vegetables aplenty.

 

Her final suggestion: " One of those tapes you can make

that repeats a message over and over again--'I like

fruits and vegetables, I like fruits and vegetables'

without the person knowing they're hearing the

message. " Nutrition guys, take note.

[Guest guest]

From the LA Times article:

> " But what if the Backstreet Boys or Britney Spears

> appeared on TV and told you that eating broccoli was

> really, really cool? " I asked.

>

> No dice.

>

> " If I knew it was an ad, then I'd know they were

> getting paid piles and piles of money to do it, " she

> countered.

 

Hmm--the milk industry seems to think this is a good way to sell kids on

milk. And, ironically, from what I've heard the milk celebrities don't

actually get paid that much--$25,000 each is what I heard, which isn't

much for some of these people. I guess they do it as a public service.

Could be wrong about that figure, though.

 

Clark

 

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