Trial reportJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics2022
The Impact of Toddler Milk Claims on Beliefs and Misperceptions: A Randomized Experiment with Parents of Young Children.
Trial report in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Nutrient Composition and Health Information on the Labels of Commercially Produced Complementary Foods in Nepal.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Article
- Parents' Perceptions of Claims on Packaged Commercial Toddler Foods: A Qualitative Study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2025Article
- Trends in Toddler Diet Quality in the United States: 1999 to 2018.Pediatrics · 2024Article
- Research on commercial milk formulas for young children: A scoping review.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Effects of marketing claims on toddler food products on parents' product preferences, perceptions and purchasing intentions: an online experiment.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2024Article
- Toddler milk: a scoping review of research on consumption, perceptions, and marketing practices.Nutrition reviews · 2024Article
- Innovative AI methods for monitoring front-of-package information: A case study on infant foods.PloS one · 2024Article
- Commercial milk formula marketing following increased restrictions in Singapore: A qualitative study.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Toddler Milk Perceptions and Responses to Front-of-Package Claims and Product Warnings: A Qualitative Study of Caregivers of Toddlers.Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2023Article
- Unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children on digital platforms in Aotearoa, New Zealand.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Comprehensiveness of infant formula and bottle feeding resources: A review of information from Australian healthcare organisations.Maternal & child nutrition · 2022Review
- The Nutritional Profile and On-Pack Marketing of Toddler-Specific Food Products Launched in Australia between 1996 and 2020.Nutrients · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundToddler milk (ie, a nutrient-fortified milk-based drink marketed for children aged 12 to 36 months) has been marketed increasingly in the United States with structure/function claims on product packaging that are potentially misleading.
objectiveThis study examined how structure/function claims impact parents' beliefs and perceptions about a toddler milk product.
designThis was a 3-arm between-subjects randomized experiment.
participantsA diverse sample of 2,190 US parents of children aged 1 to 5 years were chosen to take an online survey.
interventionParticipants were randomly assigned to view a toddler milk package with either an unrelated claim ("new and improved," ie, control condition), a "brain development" claim (ie, "brain" claim), or an "immunity-related" claim (ie, "immunity" claim).
main outcome measuresOutcomes included perceptions, intentions, and beliefs about the toddler milk product. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Linear regression for continuous outcomes and logistic regression for dichotomous outcomes.
resultsParents who were exposed to the "brain" claim or the "immunity" claim were more likely to incorrectly believe that the toddler milk was as healthy or healthier than cow's milk compared with those who saw the control claim (89% for brain claim, 87% for immunity claim, and 79% for control; P < .001 for both comparisons). Parents exposed to either the brain or immunity claim had higher intentions to give the toddler milk to their child, higher perceived product healthfulness, and stronger beliefs that pediatricians would recommend the product compared with parents exposed to the control (all, P < .001).
conclusionsThese findings suggest that structure/function claims on toddler milk packaging may mislead parents and increase the appeal of toddler milk. Our findings support calls for public health policies to regulate marketing on toddler milk packaging.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.