Children find food wrapped in McDonald's packaging 'six times tastier'

Children find food in McDonald's packaging up to six times more appetising than the identical snacks in plain wrappers, research shows.

The study, designed to gauge the power of advertising, revealed that boys and girls as young as three found food tastier when they thought it was made by a big brand.

The phenomenon is not just restricted to fast foods, with youngsters finding that milk and carrots tastier when they believed they had been bought at McDonald's.

The research, carried at Stanford University in the US, comes amid growing concern about the influence of advertising on children's health.

Child obesity rates have trebled over the last 20 years, with 10 per cent of six-year-olds and 17 per cent of 15-year-olds now obese.

By 2050, half of all primary school-age boys and a fifth of girls could be so overweight that their health is at serious risk.

Experts have warned that unless the Government acts now, an entire generation faces an old age blighted by heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases brought on by obesity, with today's children dying at a younger age than their parents.

Since April, junk food manufacturers have been banned from advertising their products during TV programmes targeted at under-16s.

However, critics claim the ban doesn't go far enough and point out that manufacturers are increasingly advertising on the internet.

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Now, research shows just how powerful advertising is.

During the study, the researchers asked children aged between three and five to rate five foods for tastiness.

Each child was given two samples of each food, one in McDonalds packaging and one in plain wrapping. Other than the packaging, the samples were identical.

The researchers said that if the children weren't influenced by branding, they would find both samples equally tasty.

However, this was far from the case, with the McDonald's-wrapped food judged far more appealing.

The 'McDonald's' fries were judged tastiest by six times as many children as found the plain packaged chips the most appetising.

Chips and chicken nuggets carrying fast food branding were also deemed more tasty.

Even milk and carrots, foods not traditionally associated with McDonald's, were gauged more appealing when carrying the chain's logo.

Further analysis showed that the link was strongest among children who ate fast food more often and among those with more than one TV set at home.

Writing in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the researchers said that previous studies had shown that children as young as two are aware of brands.

They added: "These results add evidence to support recommendations to regulate or ban advertising of the marketing of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and beverages, or all marketing that is directed to young children."

Clever branding could also be used to encourage children to eat fruit and vegetables.

The researchers said: "Our findings also suggest a need for research on marketing in general, and branding in particular, as strategies to promote more healthful taste preferences and food and beverage choices in young children."

Tam Fry, of the Child Growth Foundation said the study underlined the importance of teaching even the youngest children about healthy eating.

He added: "Gaudy, colourful packaging is tremendously attractive, and if we could do the same with broccoli, it would be wonderful."

McDonald's said it actively tries to promote healthy food to children.