medialifemagazine.com
On that dark night, go dark (chocolate)
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 29, 2009 - 1:05:18 AM
Saturday is Halloween, and if you haven't already bought your candy, a word to the wise: Go Hershey's. Four of the top seven most popular types of candy among kids ages 6-11, prime trick-or-treating age, are produced by Hershey. If you really want to play it safe, stick to chocolate -- five of the top seven candies also have some chocolate element, according to a study produced by Experian Simmons. It finds that while candy tastes vary between different age groups, kids of all ages are eating more candy now than they did two years ago, which may explain our national obesity problem. If you're monitoring your own kids' treat intake this weekend, keep in mind that 10- and 11-year-olds eat more candy than kids ages 6 and 7, probably because mom and dad are no longer keeping tight tabs on the older kids. And if you indulge in a few pieces while handing out treats, don't feel guilty. Three quarters of adults say they eat candy. John Fetto, manager of applied media research at Experian Simmons, talks to Media Life about our national sweet tooth.
What distinguishes candy-eating adults from candy abstainers?
Candy abstainers abstain from a lot more than just candy.
This small portion of the population is twice as likely as the general adult population to say they don’t eat fast food, 66 percent more likely to say they don’t use sugar, 56 percent more likely to say they don’t eat potato chips and 34 percent more likely to be vegetarian.
What age child eats the most candy on average and why?
Ten-year-old girls and boys are the most likely to say that they eat six or more servings of candy per month. Thirty-eight percent of 10-year-old girls eat six or more servings a month, as do 36 percent of 10-year-old boys.
By comparison, 6- and 7-year-old girls are the least likely to eat six or more pieces of candy a month with only 22 percent each reporting eating that quantity. Eleven-year-old girls and boys are not far behind the 10-year-olds when it comes to eating lots of sweets, but they may be at an age where they are exercising more restraint when it comes to food consumption while 10-year-olds may be enjoying the freedom of making their own decisions on candy consumption (or at least sneaking it when their parents are not around!).
This is not covered in the report, but has the quantity of candy children eat gone up over the years?
The data from this report comes from the Spring 2009 Kids study. And compared to the data from our 2007 Spring Kids study, kids today are, in fact, eating more candy than they did just two years earlier.
Kids ages 6 to 11 today eat an average of 3.5 pieces of candy per month compared to 3.33 pieces consumed in 2007. That may not sound like a big difference, but consider this: Multiplied out by all the kids who eat candy that’s an extra 3.4 million pieces of candy a month that are being eaten by kids today.
On top of that, we see that the share of kids who eat six or more pieces a month has grown to 31.3 percent, up from 28.6 percent in 2007.
Why do the favorite candy types differ so much between the three kids' age groups?
This may be more a function of the fact that older kids tend to have more “favorite” candies compared to younger kids.
We found that when asked to select their favorite candies from 83 different brands, 65 percent of all kids ages 6-11 named 10 or more different brands. Six and 7-year-olds exercised slightly more restraint with only 52 percent checking off 10 or more brands, but fully 78 percent of 10 and 11-year-olds have at least 10 favorite kinds of candy.
When we rank the different candies by the percent of kids who say they are their favorites, we see that M&Ms, Skittles, Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kats, Hershey’s Milk Chocolates and Ring Pops are in the top 10 for kids of all ages.
For kids ages 6 and 7, the fifth most “favorite” candy is Gummy Bears, which ranks 10th among 8 and 9 year-olds and 15th for 10 and 11 year-olds.
Push Pops rank number 8 for kids ages 8 and 9 rank, but only 13th for 6 and 7-year-olds and 14th for 10 and 11-year-olds.
Snickers are No. 7 for 10 and 11-year-olds, but 14th for 6 and 7-year-olds and 13th for 8 and 9-year-olds. Ten and 11-year-olds also list Jolly Rancher and Laffy Taffy in their top 10, neither of which are in the top 10 for the younger kid cohorts.
Were you surprised at all about which candies kids liked most?
Not really. The basic feeling is that if there’s sugar in it, kids will like it.
Do kids' tastes grow more sophisticated in terms of candy as they get older?
Surely they do, but with younger children we see an expansion in the types of candy they eat rather than a reduction. As kids get older and they are increasingly able to make their own food choices, they are going to choose candy. The refinement is something that is likely going to take place during their teenage years.
So what's the ideal blend of Halloween candy to give away to please every palate?
Stick with those seven brands that rank in the top 10 for all kids and you’ll have more treats than tricks on Halloween.
Here they are again: M&Ms, Skittles, Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kats, Hershey’s Milk Chocolates and Ring Pops.
© 2010 Media Life
