卡通人物圖案包裝對幼兒食物喜好之效果

Effects of Cartoon Packaging on Children's Food

目的：幼兒對食物喜好的程度會因食物包裝而有所不同，幼兒對有卡通人物包裝的食物喜好程度顯著高於沒有卡通人物包裝的食物；但是也有研究指出，食物的包裝或外型不會影響幼兒的食物喜好。本研究目的為探討卡通人物圖案包裝對幼兒食物喜好之影響。方法：以90位三至六歲幼兒為研究對象，研究人員分別使用卡通人物圖案包裝袋與透明包裝袋包裝相同的胡蘿蔔、全麥燕麥餅乾、油炸薯片，引導幼兒品嚐每種包裝食物後，請幼兒回答對該包裝食物的喜好程度，以及比較喜歡何種包裝的食物。結果：大部分幼兒有觀看電視兒童頻道的習慣，超過九成的幼兒皆能辨識卡通人物。幼兒對卡通人物圖案包裝袋包裝的食物之喜好程度顯著高於透明包裝袋包裝食物。幼兒認為卡通人物圖案包裝袋包裝的食物較透明袋包裝的食物好吃。結論：大部分幼兒喜歡以卡通人物圖案包裝的食物，利用卡通人物圖案包裝食物有助於提升幼兒對食物的喜好程度，建議可以利用卡通人物圖案包裝食物的策略改善幼兒飲食行為。

Purpose: Research shows that children develop food preferences based upon the content of the food packaging. Children prefer food with cartoon packaging more than food without cartoon packaging. However, some studies also indicate that food packaging and appearance does not affect children's food preferences. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how cartoon characters on food packaging affect the food preferences of preschool children. Method: Ninety preschool children aged three to six years old participated in our study. The participating children tasted three pairs of identical foods (carrots, whole wheat crackers, and fried potato chips) presented in packages with and without cartoon characters. The participating children answered questions about their food preference and selected which food tasted better from the two different types of packaging. Result: Most of the children regularly watched children's TV channels. More than 90% of the children recognized cartoon characters. The mean preference score for food with packaging that featured cartoon characters was significantly higher than the food with transparent packaging. Furthermore, children felt that the food with cartoon character packaging tasted better than food with transparent packaging. Conclusion: Most children prefer food products with cartoon characters on the packaging. The results of this study show that cartoon characters on food packaging can both promote children's food preference and suggest that the use of cartoon characters may be a beneficial strategy for improving the eating behavior of young children.