84 Unit 2 Nutrition and Food Choices
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Consider How Food Is Prepared. The way food is prepared also in-
fl uences the number of calories it contains. Fried foods, for example, have
more calories than baked or raw foods because the fried food absorbs oil
or butter while frying. A grilled chicken leg has 60 calories whereas a fried
chicken leg has 130 calories. Something as simple as the method of food
preparation can cause the food’s calories to double.
Food can also provide different nutrients depending on how it is served.
For example, apples with their skins on have more fi ber than peeled apples.
This is one reason why eating an apple is better for you than eating applesauce
or drinking apple juice. By peeling and processing fruits and vegetables, you
are removing some of their nutrients. Leaving the skin or peel on gives you a
much more nutritious option (Figure 3.11).
Does McDonald’s Food Taste Better?
In a recent study, researchers wanted to examine the
effects of food logos and packaging on children’s taste
preferences. The study sought to discover if children believe
that food from McDonald’s tastes better than the same food
from a grocery store.
Researchers asked 63 children (from 3 and 5 years
of age) to taste fi ve different foods: chicken nuggets, a
hamburger, French fries, baby carrots, and milk. The
chicken nuggets, hamburger, and French fries were all from
McDonald’s. The carrots and milk were from a grocery store.
Each type of food was divided into two portions. One
portion was wrapped in a McDonald’s wrapper or placed in a
McDonald’s bag. The second portion was given to the children
in a wrapper or bag without the McDonald’s logo. Therefore,
the children tasted each of the fi ve types of foods twice—once
in McDonald’s packaging and once with generic packaging.
Can you guess what these researchers found? Overall,
children preferred the taste of foods and drinks they thought
were from McDonald’s. After taste-testing, the children said
the chicken nuggets, fries, carrots, and milk wrapped in the
McDonald’s logo tasted better than the foods in grocery store
packaging, even though the foods were exactly the same.
Thinking Critically
1. What factors do you think contribute to children’s belief that food from McDonald’s tastes better? What
role is played by family, society, and the media in the formation of this belief?
2. The children in this study were very young. Do you think researchers would fi nd the same results
with older children and teenagers? Why or why not?
3. What are the consequences of the children's beliefs about McDonald's food? Can you think of strategies
for changing such beliefs? Do you think such efforts could be effective?
Research
in Action
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