Researchers contend children under the age of 10 are mistaking apple slices for french fries and failing to recognize milk as a substitute for soda.
April 1/Chicago/Norris Cotton Cancer Center -- Fast Food companies including McDonald’s and Burger King started advertising healthier meal options for kids back in 2010. The ads' message, however, could be lost on the target audience. Researchers at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center have concluded a study revealing that children under the age of 10 are mistaking apple slices for french fries and failing to recognize milk as a substitute for soda.
"Burger King's depiction of apple slices as 'Fresh Apple Fries' was misleading to children in the target age range," co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dr. James Sargent, said in a statement. "The advertisement would be deceptive by industry standards, yet their self-regulation bodies took no action to address the misleading depiction."