Seemingly confirming the familiar warnings of pediatricians and other researchers, a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics finds that fast food commercials featuring toy giveaways led children to ask their parents to take them to the restaurants. And the more the children saw the fast-food commercials, the more frequently they ate fast food.
The study, performed by researchers from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, focused on the advertising of Burger King and McDonald’s, the two major fast-food brands on ad-supported children’s networks, such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
But the study concerned national advertising from 2009, and the youth-focused marketing practices of fast food have since then improved, by some measures. A 2013 report suggested that both McDonald’s and Burger King had scaled back their marketing toward children.
Some practices still raise hackles, however. Earlier this year, the Children’s Advertising Review Unit, the regulatory body, reprimanded McDonald’s for a Happy Meal commercial in which a “Teenie Beanie Baby Boo” toy got a third of the screen time. McDonald’s has stopped airing the ad.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- What Kind of President Would Kamala Harris Be?
- Is Adrenal Fatigue Real?
- Why It's So Hard to Quit Vaping
- Our Guide to Voting in the 2024 Election
- The 10 Races That Will Determine Control of the Senate
- Column: How My Shame Became My Strength
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Write to Jack Dickey at jack.dickey@time.com