Well, not really, but there is this:
In a field experiment conducted during trick-or-treating at Halloween, we find that a visual cue of Michelle Obama prompts almost twice as many children age 9 and over to choose fruit over candy, compared to a visual cue of Ann Romney. This provides evidence that Michelle Obama’s campaign to promote healthy eating has succeeded in influencing behavior. No such evidence was found for children age 8 and below.
The results aren’t surprising, because Michelle Obama is a) covered in mass media enough to be recognizable by a 9 year old and b) very active in promoting healthy eating habits, compared to Ann Romney for whom neither of these are true.
The more interesting comparison, I think, would be comparing Michelle Obama with someone else who has a similar degree of recognition and is also associated with food choices. Paula Deen is the first person that springs to mind, although I don’t know if the researchers’ budget has the flexibility to provide sticks of butter to the folks handing out the goodies.
(via Duck of Minerva)
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