Despite extensive research on framing effects in public health communication, there is still a lack of knowledge on how gain frames v. loss frames can encourage healthy eating behaviour among children.

Drawing on the Prospect Theory as well as on the Reactivity of Embedded Food Cues in Advertising Model, an experiment exposed children to an audio-visual cartoon movie with gain-framed nutritional messages about eating fruit (gain condition), loss-framed nutritional messages about eating fruit (loss condition) or a message without any food (control group). Children’s fruit intake was measured as the dependent variable. Children’s awareness of gain- and loss-framed arguments was treated as mediators, while children’s age and parents’ self-reported food-related mediation styles were modelled as moderators.

Vienna, Austria, in 2018.

Children aged 6–10 years (N 161).

Children in the gain frame group were more aware of gain-framed arguments, and children in the loss frame group were more aware of loss-framed arguments than those in the control group. However, only the mediator awareness of gain-framed arguments increased fruit intake. Additionally, there was a direct effect of the gain-framed message on fruit intake compared to the control group. The loss condition did not reveal such an effect. Neither parent’s food-related mediation styles nor children’s age moderated those results.

Gain-framing seems to be more effective in influencing children’s healthy food choices compared to loss-framing. Implications for health communication strategies aimed at children are discussed.