Can healthy eating be cool?: A study of celebrities’ impact on teens’ attitudes towards healthy eating

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

In adolescence peers become a major influence, however teenagers also look to celebrities to know what is “trending”. This study was a first step to understand if celebrities can have a positive influence in adolescents’ views of healthy food. Research was done to 13 and 14 year olds who were divided into experimental and control groups. The first observed an episode which included a scene of a celebrity eating healthily followed by a questionnaire focused on attitudes towards healthy eating. Results suggest that teens align their attitudes to be the same as the celebrity’s. Moreover, celebrities can be stronger role models than peers and this effect will be higher for teenagers who are more easily influenced. In the end, this study shows that celebrities are able to transmit healthy eating habits successfully and effectively.