Editorial: Fries with that?

Monday, Aug. 20, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.

Can't get your kid to eat broccoli? Wrap it in a McDonald's french fry bag.

Chances are, he'll think the vegetable tastes better - or so it seems, according to results of a small study by the Stanford Prevention Research Center, a division of Stanford University.

The study, published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, says taste tests among 63 children who were 3 to 5 years old showed that the tots preferred the taste of foods presented to them in wrappers that carried the McDonald's logo.

Nearly 77 percent thought that french fries from a McDonald's bag tasted better than those served in a plain white bag - even though the fries were identical, and none came from McDonald's.

Even more telling was that 54 percent of the children thought that baby carrots served atop a McDonald's fry bag tasted better than those presented on a plain one. Again - same veggies, different paper.

Such conclusions could - and probably should - alarm parents, pediatricians and any other adult charged with ensuring healthy eating habits among children.

A McDonald's Corp. vice president, however, embraced the study and told The New York Times in a recent story that it shows how "McDonald's own 'branding' of milk, apples, salads and other fruits and vegetables has directly resulted in major increases in the purchases of these menu items by moms, families and children."

Really? Move over, Mom. You have been replaced by a paper bag with golden arches.

Seriously, the nation's obesity epidemic is not solely the fault of such restaurants as McDonald's, which was chosen for the study because of its broad market saturation. Despite the fact that the food and beverage industry spends $10 billion annually in marketing aimed at children, parents still have the final say in what their children eat.

But they have to say it loudly.