YouTube stars 'might encourage kids to eat more calories'
Social media stars might be encouraging children to eat more unhealthy snacks, a new study suggests. It found children who saw popular vloggers consuming sugary and fatty snacks went on to eat 26% more calories than those who did not. The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity, examined the responses of children to images from social media. The findings come amid calls for tougher rules on junk food advertising. The social media stars used in the study were Zoella, who has 10.9 million followers on Instagram, and Alfie Deyes, who has 4.6 million. The 176 children were split into three groups and shown either pictures of the personalities promoting unhealthy snacks, healthy foods or non-food products. The children w...