New research suggests that there may be a link between the cartoons children watch and they amount of junk food they consume, The Economic Times reported.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that children consume twice as much low-nutrition, high-calorie food such as cookies and candy after observing seemingly overweight cartoon characters. They believe kids are responsive to the apparent bodyweight of cartoon characters like the aptly named Grimace, a rotund, milkshake-loving creature created by McDonald's restaurant in the 1970s.

According to the study, children tend to perceive ovoid, or egg-shaped, characters as overweight even though the creatures are imaginary. In addition, seeing ovoid cartoon characters can influence children to eat more unhealthy food.

"Because research like this is new -- looking at kids and stereotyping particularly of cartoon characters -- we weren't sure whether kids would be aware of bodyweight norms," Margaret C. Campbell, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "But surprisingly, they apply typically human standards to cartoon creatures -- creatures for which there isn't a real baseline."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from more than 300 children in three age groups averaging 8, 12 and 13 years old.

They found that the inclination to eat more junk food was curtailed when kids in the study first had the opportunity to summon their previously learned health knowledge, Medical Daily reported. That is, before looking at the ovoid cartoon character and then taking a cookie taste-test, the children's health knowledge was activated when they were asked to choose the healthiest option represented in six pairs of pictures and words -- such as getting your sleep versus watching TV, soda versus milk and playing inside versus playing outside -- which led to lighter cookie consumption.

"This is key information we should continue to explore," Campbell said. "Kids don't necessarily draw upon previous knowledge when they're making decisions. But perhaps if we're able to help trigger their health knowledge with a quiz just as they're about to select lunch at school, for instance, they'll choose the more nutritious foods."

The findings, which are detailed in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, have implications for marketers as well as parents navigating a world where children encounter cartoon characters in a variety of media, from books to graphic novels, TV shows, video games, movies and more.