London - Podgy cartoon characters are contributing to the childhood obesity crisis, a study claims.
Children eat more high-calorie food with lower nutritional values after watching overweight characters such as Homer Simpson and Family Guy’s Peter Griffin, researchers found.
In tests by the University of Colorado, youngsters viewing overweight characters in videogames, adverts and cartoons ate twice as much ‘indulgent food’ - such as sweets and biscuits - as those who watched characters with normal body weights.
Previous research involving adults has shown how eating behaviour can be influenced by the body shape of other people in the surrounding environment.
This was the first study to show how the same can apply to children when they encounter fictional characters.
Daily Mail