South Korean activists¹ clad in masks symbolizing² fruits and vegetables parade to promote vegetarian³ food in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, February 22, 2009.

In a new study, 186 four-year-olds were given regular carrots and, on other lunch days, they were given the same vegetables renamed X-ray Vision Carrots. On the latter days, they ate nearly twice as many.

The study suggests the influence of these names might persist.

Children continued to eat about 50 percent more carrots even on the days when they were no longer labeled as anything special.

The research, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was presented at the annual meeting of the School Nutrition Association in Washington, DC.

"Cool names can make for cool foods," says lead author Brian Wansink of Cornell University. "Whether it be 'power peas' or 'dinosaur⁴ broccoli⁵ trees,' giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat. And it seems to keep working - even the next day," Wansink said.

Similar results have been found with adults. A restaurant study showed that when the Seafood⁶ Filet⁷ was changed to Succulent Italian Seafood Filet, sales increased 28 percent and taste rating increased by 12 percent. "Same food, but different expectations, and a different experience," said Wansink, author of "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think."

The veggie study was conducted in pre-schools, but the researchers believe the same naming tricks can work with children at home.

"I've been using this with my kids," said researcher Collin Payne, "Whatever sparks their imagination seems to spark their appetite."

在一项最新研究中，研究人员让186名四岁的儿童吃“普通”胡萝卜，并在另外几天午餐时给他们吃同样的胡萝卜，但把名字改成了“X光透视眼胡萝卜”，结果发现，孩子们在这几天所食用的胡萝卜量为之前的近两倍。

研究表明，这些“酷名”的影响可能会持续。

即便之后没再给胡萝卜起什么特别的名字，孩子所摄入的胡萝卜量仍然比以往多约50%。

这项研究由罗伯特•伍德•约翰森基金会资助，研究结果在华盛顿召开的“学校营养协会”的年度会议上公布。

研究主要负责人、康奈尔大学的布莱恩•万辛克说：“名字酷，东西似乎也就酷。所以无论是‘大力豌豆’还是“恐龙花椰菜”，给食物起一个有趣的名字能让孩子们觉得这些东西吃起来会更有意思。而且这种影响会持续——即便到了第二天也如此。”

大人们也具有这种“情结”。一项餐馆调查发现，将“海鱼”改名为“意大利多汁海鱼”后，其销量上升了28%，口味评级上升了12%。《食无止境：为什么我吃得比认为的多》一书的作者万辛克说：“其实是同样的东西，但期望值和体验都不同。”

这项有关蔬菜的研究在幼儿园开展，但研究人员认为“酷名效应”同样适用于不上幼儿园的孩子。

研究人员科林•佩恩说：“我就对我的孩子采取这种方法。能激发他们想象力的东西似乎也能激发他们的胃口。”