Influenced by TV ads, children tend to choose more junk food, increasing the risk of weight gain, a new study suggests.

The finding was based on a series of experiments to test the effects of TV food commercials on children as well as adults, researchers at Yale University said in the study published in the July issue of the journal Health Psychology.

One experiment found that children aged seven to 11 who watched a half-hour cartoon that included food commercials ate 45 percent more snack food while watching the show than children who watched the same cartoon with non-food commercials.

That increased amount of snacking would lead to a weight gain of nearly 10 pounds (about 4.5 kilograms) a year, unless it was countered by decreased intake of other foods or increased physicalactivity, the researchers said.

In another experiment, adults who saw TV ads for unhealthy foods ate much more than those who saw ads that featured messages about good nutrition or healthy food, according to the researchers.

"This research shows a direct and powerful link between television food advertising and calories consumed by adults and children," said lead author Jennifer Harris, director of marketing initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale.

"Food advertising triggers automatic eating, regardless of hunger, and is a significant contributor to the obesity epidemic. Reducing unhealthy food advertising to children is critical," she said.

Source: Xinhua