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Costume-Clad Veggies Could Be More Appealing To Kids, Study Finds

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Super Sprowtz characters Brian Broccoli, Erica Eggplant and Colby Carrot. (Courtesy Super Sprowtz via Facebook)Super Sprowtz characters Brian Broccoli, Erica Eggplant and Colby Carrot. (Courtesy Super Sprowtz via Facebook)
Super Sprowtz characters Brian Broccoli, Erica Eggplant and Colby Carrot. (Courtesy Super Sprowtz via Facebook)

Are vegetables the victims of bad marketing? Is it possible that simply dressing up a zucchini as a surfer dude will get kids to eat more zucchini?

A study recently published in the journal Pediatrics says yes. And if you play videos and display banners about him — and his carrot and sweet pea friends — you can increase kids' visits to the salad bar by a whopping 240 percent.

Here's a video about Super Sprowtz, an organization that turned vegetables into a cast of superhero characters to teach children about nutrition:

The study was conducted by researchers at the Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition at Cornell University. Professor Drew Hanks is its lead author.

Hanks is now a professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University, and he joins Here & Now's Robin Young to discuss the implications of his research.

A composite image of food carts featuring vegetables as super heroes. (Courtesy Sprowtz)
A composite image of food carts featuring banners showing vegetables as superhero-like characters. (Courtesy Drew Hanks)

Guest

Drew Hanks, assistant professor of consumer sciences at Ohio State University.

This segment aired on August 31, 2016.

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