A、They can turn to marketing professors for advice. B、They can rely on advertising for sales promotion. C、They can attract custo

In last week’s lecture, we talked about the problems caused by poor eating habits, focusing on how medical professionals are trying to solve these problems. Today, we’ll continue with the topic, but focus on research from a different field: marketing.
    Now, what can marketing tell us about improving nutrition? Well, a team of marketing professors has studied the importance of the visual aspect of food, and how that influences food choices. Those marketing experts assert that the impact of the appearance of food is greater than we might presume, and might hold the key to encouraging better eating. So how important is the appearance of food? Research shows that just seeing an appealing photograph of a hamburger in an advertisement, for example, can cause individuals to imagine the taste or smell of that hamburger. This can make them more likely to purchase and consume it. Of course, that’s the point of advertisements. So, isn’t that a good thing? Well, the marketing professors argue that this is actually a problem, because the combination of pleasing aesthetics of and easy access to unhealthy foods, such as hamburgers and pizza, may be contributing to a worldwide health crisis. In fact, statistics show that 39％ of all adults in the world weigh too much, and another 13％ are obese.
    Now, as we discussed last time, medical professionals have tried to fight the obesity epidemic by focusing on the nutrients found in different foods, emphasizing things like carbohydrate, fat, sugar and calorie content. But they’ve had limited success. The marketing professors believe that the real solution to obesity is making food look appealing and focusing on the pleasure of both looking at and eating that food. That pleasure can be used as a tool to promote healthy food choices. In fact, the research done by the team showed that associating healthy food with pleasant images, experiences and emotions led to greater interest in purchasing or eating it. This is a better strategy, they claim, than reminding consumers that a certain food is good for them. But are they right? Well, the researchers cited a marketing campaign designed to reverse the sales decline of carrots. The campaign didn’t emphasize the carrots’ healthy qualities, but embrace their beauty and the pleasure derived from eating them For example, the ads focused on the bright, beautiful orange color and crisp texture of the carrots. The campaign led to an impressive increase in product sales of more than 10％. The researchers believe that other companies could bolster sales of healthy foods with similar ads, depicting their products as attractive and a source of pleasure.
    16.What does the speaker say a team of marketing professors has studied?
    17.How have medical professionals tried to fight obesity?
    18.What can other companies learn from the example of the carrot promotion campaign?