YouTube encourages children to eat more calories

YouTube encourages children to eat more calories

YouTube encourages children to eat more calories

Social networking stars may encourage children to eat too many unhealthy snacks, according to a recent study.

The study found that children, who saw well-known video bloggers consuming snacks containing sugars or fat, continued to eat 26 percent more calories than those who did not.

The study, presented at the European Conference on Obesity, examined children's response to social networking sites.

The results come in light of demands to tighten the rules governing the announcement of fast food.

The study was used by social media stars "Zoella", which is followed by 10.9 million people on Instagram, and Alfis Dis, followed by 4.6 million people.

The 176 children were divided into three groups, showing pictures of figures promoting unhealthy snacks, healthy food, or other food products.

Then offer children a selection of healthy and unhealthy snacks, to choose from, including grapes, carrots, chocolates and dessert.

Children who saw unhealthy images consumed an average of 448 calories, while others consumed only 357 calories.

According to Dr. Emma Boyland, a researcher at the University of Liverpool, children regard video bloggers as "everyday characters", just like their peers.

"They have gained a degree of confidence in the children, so they have to be responsible."

Children Protection

The researchers called for more protection for children on the Internet, especially on social media, where it is unclear if they understand the difference between ads and real content.

"There are a lot of signals on television that show that the material presented is advertisements, such as ad breaks and songs, while in the digital world many of the ads are included in the rest of the content," says Dr. Boyland.

"We know that if you are offered a drink for children, their preference for this drink will increase," says Anna Coates, who oversees the study. "We wanted to test their response to this new kind of celebrity, the star of social networking."

"Now we have proved that children are influenced by the stars of the Internet," she said, "Our next study will look at whether they are aware of it or not." In many cases, celebrities take money to promote a product.

Professor Russell Weiner, director of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, called on the government to study the enactment of more child protection regulations as part of its next strategy to combat childhood obesity.

"It is important to protect children from promoting fast food, not only on television but also on the Internet, where they spend more time," he said.

He added: "Companies are able to direct their ads through social media, where there is an opportunity for regulators to impose restrictions on those ads."