The Impact of Food Advertisements on Brain Response and Eating Behavior in Children

The purpose of this project is to examine the impact that television food advertisements have on brain responses and eating behavior in children. Food advertisements enhance children's liking and intake of foods that tend to be high in energy content and low in nutritional value. Although several studies have measured the differences in children's food intake after watching advertisements, none have shown the brain mechanisms associated with this change in behavior. In order to clarify the relationship between food advertising and eating behavior, the investigators have assembled a team with expertise in functional imaging, eating behaviors, and clinical pediatric research. First, the investigators will observe the differences in children's eating behaviors after being exposed to food commercials or non-food commercials. Second, the investigators will measure the difference in child brain response to high and low energy foods after being exposed to food commercials or non-food commercials. These data will allow us to identify which areas of the brain are specifically affected by exposure to food commercials and correlate activity in these areas with children's measured food intake in the laboratory. Children ages 7-9 will participate in this 5-visit study which will be completed over the course of 12 months. Understanding how food advertisements impact children's brain responses and subsequent eating behaviors will have implications for understanding why some children respond differently to these cues than others. These outcomes may also inform the development of more effective programs and policies to prevent childhood obesity.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Pediatric Obesity

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 88

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • University Park, Pennsylvania, United States, 16802
      • The Pennsylvania State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 7 years to 9 years (Child)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Children ages 7-9 years old

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Right-handed
• English as native language
• Reading at/above grade level
• Not Claustrophobic
• Generally Healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Left-handedness
• Metal in or on body that cannot be removed
• Claustrophobic
• Medication usage that may alter brain activity or blood flow
• Medical disorder that may impact comfort or safety in MRI scanner
• Food allergies

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to high and low energy foods following food commercial priming	Whole-brain response to food images varied by 2 levels of energy viewed in 2 conditions	Collected at fMRI scan at week 4 or 5 (randomized)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging, blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to high and low energy foods following toy commercial priming	Energy intake of foods consumed ad libitum at each laboratory test-meal in 3 conditions	Collected at fMRI scan at week 4 or 5 (randomized)
Baseline Energy Intake	Energy intake of foods consumed ad libitum at laboratory test-meal with no priming stimulus	Collected at week 1 of the study
Energy Intake following food commercials	Energy intake of foods consumed ad libitum at laboratory test-meal following food commercials priming	Collected at week 2 or 3 (randomized) of the study
Energy Intake following toy commercials	Energy intake of foods consumed ad libitum at laboratory test-meal following toy priming stimulus	Collected at week 2 or 3 (randomized) of the study

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Region of Interest (ROI)-response to food type by condition	Response in selected regions of interest to images varied by 2 levels of energy viewed in 2 conditions	Collected at fMRI scans at weeks 4 and 5 of study

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Height	Height in cm measured by stadiometer	Collected at week 1
Appetitive traits	Parent-reported questionnaire of habitual eating styles in children	Collected at week 1
Television and Internet use and exposure	Parent and child reported questionnaires of television and internet use and exposure to shows and commercials	Collected at week 1
BMI-z score	BMI-z score calculated using age, sex, weight, and height	Collected at week 1
Liking and Wanting of Foods	Ratings to how much child likes and wants specific foods used in the test meals on child friendly computerized rating scale	Collected at week 1
Pubertal Development	Parent reported pubertal development through questionnaire	Collected at week 1
Parental feeding strategies	Parent-reported measures of feeding practices	Collected at week 1
Weight	Weight in kg measured by standard digital scale	Collected at week 1
Body Fat Percentage	Body Fat Percentage assessed by Bio Electrical Impedance Scale	Collected at week 1
BMI	Calculated from height and weight (kg/m^2)	Collected at week 1

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Penn State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): March 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 24, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 26, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): June 2, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 13, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 11, 2021
• Last Verified: January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Children; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Energy Intake; Commercials
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Body Weight; Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: CommercialEating01