How cartoon characters and claims influence children’s attitude towards a snack vegetable – An explorative cross-cultural comparison between Indonesia and Denmark

The effects of food anthropomorphism on consumer behavior: A systematic literature review with integrative framework and future research directions

Anthropomorphizing or humanizing food is a common marketing practice that has gained significant scholarly attention in the past few years. The present systematic review analyzes articles that examined the effects of anthropomorphizing various food and food ingredients on consumers' behavior to synthesize the existing body of work into an integrative framework, provide managerial recommendations, and identify avenues for future research. Using the Prisma 2020 statement for systematic reviews, a systematic search of four databases (EBSCO, PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed, quantitative articles published in English till the March 10, 2023 was undertaken, resulting in a final number of 21 articles meeting our selection criteria. The identified articles studied anthropomorphism of one of the three categories of food - regular food, misshapen/irregularly-shaped food, and meat animal. Analysis based on an integrative framework suggests that, in general, anthropomorphizing misshapen produce and regular food has a positive effect on behavior towards the food (e.g., purchase intention) and the restaurant/brand (e.g., restaurant visit intention) among adult consumers through elicitation of cognitive and affective responses. However, anthropomorphizing meat animals reduces consumers' intention to buy or eat meat by evoking negative emotions such as guilt. Similarly, anthropomorphizing regular food discourages consumption among children. The framework highlights several moderating variables of these effects. Based on the insights from this literature review, several recommendations for practitioners and researchers are suggested.

Consumers' willingness to pay for health claims during the COVID-19 pandemic: A moderated mediation analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a substantial threat to people's lives and raised health concerns. This research explores the mediating role of consumers' attitudes towards health claims in the relationship between consumers' interest in health claims and their willingness to pay (WTP) for health claims in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). Additionally, we examine the moderation effect of COVID-19 risk perception in the relationship between consumers' interest in and attitudes towards health claims. Data were collected through an online survey in three countries: Spain, the UK and Chile. Findings confirm the mediating role of consumers' attitudes towards health claims. Furthermore, the relationship between consumers' interest and their attitudes towards health claims was stronger when COVID-19 risk perception was higher.

Prophetic educational values in the Indonesian language textbook: pillars of positive politeness and character education

Strengthening character education and positive politeness is an important pillar in selecting textbooks and teaching materials in global era. This study aimed to identify and describe the prophetic education values in Indonesian language textbooks for the VII grade junior high school in their relation to positive politeness to build students' character. The research question is “how are the values of prophetic education as a pillar of politeness and character education in textbooks?”. Descriptive qualitative method was employed as the main approach. Data were collected through documentation using read-marker and noting techniques, and analyzed using heuristic and Grice's means-end politeness methods. Furthermore, the data were analyzed using content and comparative document analysis and sharpened by referential pragmatic politeness analysis. The research findings showed several interrelated prophetic education values in relation with the pillars of positive politeness and character education. These values formed the self-sufficiency of students in the Indonesian language textbook of class VII junior high school. They were manifested in the reality oriented to humanization, liberation, and transcendence. Humanization was realized through social life based on the generosity, honesty, tolerance, and politeness values. Similarly, liberation was realized through the education, health, mutual help, and hard work values. Moreover, transcendent life was actualized according to the consistency (istiqamah) in worshipping Allah (swt), gratitude, and humility (tawadhu') values. This study recommends that prophetic values can be used as a pillar of politeness development and strengthening educational characters in global era.

Effects of food nutrition labels on the health awareness of school-age children

Background

Overweight and obesity have been described as a global epidemic that seriously affects the health of adults and children. Front of Package (FOP) Nutrition Labeling can increase consumers’ awareness of unhealthy foods. The purpose of this study is to find effective deterrence and improve children’s health awareness via the FOP.

Methods

This study examined children’s health awareness of snack packaging using the four labels: guideline daily amounts (GDA), traffic light system (TLS), Apple label (designed in this study), and Warning label. This study recruited 343 children in the sixth grade, including 223 children living in cities and 120 children living in rural areas. First, 30 children in grades 3 to 6 selected 8 snacks that they often buy. Then, each snack was synthesized into these four labels according to their nutritional content for a total of 32 samples. Finally, a questionnaire was used to evaluate the health of snack packaging and the visibility of nutrition labels.

Results

Four results can be drawn: (1) GDA, Apple label and TLS can help children determine healthier snack choices, (2) black Warning label cannot induce children to make healthier choices, (3) children who often buy snacks have low health awareness, and (4) rural children have weak health awareness of snack packaging.

Conclusions

These results can provide a packaging label design, which can effectively improve children’s health awareness.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-13613-y.

Can sports cartoon watching in childhood promote adult physical activity and mental health? A pathway analysis in Chinese adults

Physical activity is essential to maintain physical and mental health. Unfortunately, insufficient physical activity has become a common phenomenon worldwide in the past decade, and the absence of interest in physical activity is assumed a reason. Therefore, strategies for fostering interests and promoting public engagement are in need. We conducted a questionnaire survey during September 2021 that involved 1202 adults to capture data on sports and relevant cartoon watching experiences during childhood; Intensity and frequency of physical activity, depression (PHQ-9), and anxiety (GAD-7) during adulthood. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine pathways between watching sports cartoon in childhood and physical activity and mental health in adulthood. The results suggest that childhood sports cartoon watching may have indirect and positive impacts on adult physical activity and, in turn, on mental health. Childhood sports experience is a critical mediator role linking childhood sports cartoon watching, adult physical activity, and adult mental health. In conclusion, watching sports cartoon may help cultivate sports interests and promote children's participation in sports, and the sports experiences may be a continuous and beneficial factor that connects childhood and adulthood. These findings indicate a framework to understand the durative positive impact of cartoons and maybe other children's film and television works.

Development and Proof-of-Concept Evaluation of a Sensory Science-Based Model for Product Development of Vegetable-Based Products for Children

Children's vegetable intake is too low, and a key barrier to the inadequate intake is low acceptance. To facilitate successful development of new vegetable-based products for children, a sensory science approach to product development has been taken. A new theoretical model is proposed, the CAMPOV model: Children's Acceptance Model for Product development of Vegetables. The model is informed by scientific literature and considers biological, psychological, and situational, and intrinsic and extrinsic product factors relevant to children's acceptance of vegetables, with a focus on modifiable factors at the product level. Simultaneously, 14 new vegetable-based product concepts for children were developed and evaluated through focus groups with 5-8-year-olds (n = 36) as a proof-of-concept evaluation of the model. Children had high interest in six of the concepts. Factors identified from the literature that positively associated with the children's interest in the concepts included bright colours, bite-sized pieces, good taste, fun eating experience, and familiarity. The CAMPOV model and proof-of-concept evaluation results can guide further sensory and consumer research to increase children's acceptance of food products containing vegetables, which will in turn provide further insights into the validity of the model. The food industry can use the model as a framework for development of new products for children with high sensory appeal.

How to promote healthy eating in preschool children: Evidence from an associative conditioning procedure with non-food stimuli

Given the increasing rates and severe consequences of childhood obesity, how to encourage children to eat low-calorie and healthy foods is an important question. Building on evaluative conditioning research, this study investigated how associating fruits and vegetables with positive, non-food stimuli influences preschool children's food choice and consumption. Consistent with this idea, it was found in two experiments that 3- to 6-year-old children's healthy food choice and consumption increased by pairing a healthy food's picture systematically with a positive, non-food image. These findings highlight a simple yet effective means of changing young children's eating behavior, which may complement existing intervention procedures.