In a new study, 186 four-year-old kids were given regular carrots and, on other lunch days, they were given the same vegetables renamed X-ray Vision Carrots. On the latter days, they ate nearly twice as many.
The study suggests the influence of these names might persist. Children continued to eat about 50 percent more carrots even on the days when they were no longer labeled as anything special.
The research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was presented at the annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association in Washington, D.C..
“Cool names can make for cool foods,” said the lead author Brian Wansink of Cornell University. “Whether it be ‘power peas’ or ‘dinosaur broccoli trees’, giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat. And it seems to keep working — even the next day,” Wansink said.
Similar results have been found with adults. A restaurant study showed that when the Seafood Filet was changed to Romantic Hawaii, sales increased 28 percent and taste rating increased by 12 percent. “Same food, but different expectations, and a different experience,” said Wansink, author of “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.”
The study was conducted in pre-schools, but the researchers believe the same naming tricks can work with children at home.
“I’ve been using this with my kids,” said researcher Collin Payne, “Whatever sparks(激发) their imagination seems to spark their appetite.”
Those four-year-old kids ate ________ when the carrots were renamed X-ray Vision Carrots.
A.twice more carrots | B.nearly double carrots |
C.about 50 percent more carrots | D.as many carrots as they used to |
According to the passage, _______ make(s) kids think it will be more fun to eat.
A.power peas | B.dinosaur broccoli trees |
C.fun names of food | D.cool foods |
The restaurant study didn’t show that ________.
A.sales increased 28 percent when the name Romantic Hawaii was taken |
B.taste rating increased by 12 percent after the Seafood Filet was renamed |
C.same food would let people have a different experience with different names |
D.the researchers got similar results when they work with children at home |
The purpose of the passage is to tell us ________.
A.people prefer food with cool names |
B.how to name the food which kids eat |
C.how to help kids eat in a healthy way |
D.kids often imagine when they eat food |