title: Manga comic influences snack selection in Black and Hispanic New York City youth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a single exposure to a Manga comic (Japanese comic art) with multiple messages promoting fruit intake influenced snack selection in minority urban youth.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven youth (mean age 10.8 y; 54% female; 74% black/African American) attending after-school programs in Brooklyn, NY participated in a pilot study in which they were randomly assigned to receive the comic or a non-health-related newsletter. After reading their media, participants were offered a snack and could choose from among healthy/unhealthy options. Secondary outcomes included knowledge, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations related to fruit intake and media transportation. Data were analyzed using regression and paired t test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comic group participants were significantly more likely to choose a healthy snack, compared to the Attention-control group (odds ratio = 3.6, 95% confidence interval: 1.1-12.1, P = .04). The Comic group reported increases in self-efficacy (P = .04) and greater transportation (immersion into media) (P = .006).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest Manga comics may be a useful format to promote healthy snack selection in urban minority youth.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Program, City University of New York School of Public Health, Hunter College, New York, NY. Electronic address: mm.leung@hunter.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: May May
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tripicchio
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Program, City University of New York School of Public Health, Hunter College, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Alen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agaronov
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Ningqi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002359:Cartoons as Topic; D002648:Child; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008091:Literature; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City / Q000453:epidemiology; D013334:Students; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: childhood obesity; comic book; health promotion; nutrition education; snack selection