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Can Toy Premiums Induce Healthy Eating?

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Toys and Communication

Abstract

Toy premiums are a marketing strategy used to promote unhealthy food to children. The research shown in this chapter aimed at seeing if they could be used instead to promote healthy eating habits in children 6–11 years old. As children grow, their appreciation for healthy meals and toys decreases, but their enjoyment of collections increases, and therefore we would expect that at least collectible toy premiums would be effective. The study consisted of presenting children with healthy food paired with a toy premium and measuring children’s attitudes towards healthy food and toy premiums and their purchase intentions of the healthy meal. Results suggest that pairing healthy food with any toy premium is not effective in promoting healthy eating behaviors, the main reason being the initial highly positive attitude towards healthy food.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nova School of Business and Economics, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carla Ferreira

  2. School of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Luísa Agante

Authors
  1. Carla Ferreira
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  2. Luísa Agante
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Correspondence to Luísa Agante .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy and Social Scienes, Catholic University of Portugal, Braga, Portugal

    Luísa Magalhães

  2. Institute for Cultural Inquiry, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Jeffrey Goldstein

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Cite this chapter

Ferreira, C., Agante, L. (2018). Can Toy Premiums Induce Healthy Eating?. In: Magalhães, L., Goldstein, J. (eds) Toys and Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59136-4_12

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