Fast Food Ads and Children's Brain: Dartmouth's Koop Institute

Some children’s brains are prone to respond to unhealthy food advertisements. Such advertisements actually prompt those children to eat more, even when they are not hungry, according to research by Diane Gilbert-Diamond, ScD, a scientist at Dartmouth College’s C. Everett Koop Institute and an associate professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The Koop Institute conducts the rigorous scientific studies needed to understand and temper the powerful influences that drive overconsumption of highly processed foods, tobacco, alcohol, and other potentially unhealthy products. Every year, several undergraduates and recent graduates of Dartmouth College contribute to this important work.