Impact of commercials on food preferences of low-income, minority preschoolers.

Objective: To determine whether fruit and vegetable (FV) commercials have an impact on preschool children's preferences for specific FV.

Design: A year of extensive formative assessment was conducted to develop 2 30-second commercials: "Judy Fruity" promoted apples and bananas and "Reggie Veggie" promoted broccoli and carrots. The commercials were embedded into a 15-minute TV program.

Nutrient quality of fast food kids meals.

Background: Exposure of children to kids meals at fast food restaurants is high; however, the nutrient quality of such meals has not been systematically assessed.

Objective: We assessed the nutrient quality of fast food meals marketed to young children, ie, "kids meals."

Design: The nutrient quality of kids meals was assessed primarily by using criteria from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).