PRESCHOOLERS will eat a carrot stick if it comes in a McDonald's wrapper - a finding that will ring true with frustrated parents.

A study, published in the Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine yesterday, found that children as young as three preferred to eat foods they believed to be from McDonald's - even if those foods, such as a serve of vegetables, were not part of the fast-food giant's menu.

Researchers tested 63 preschoolers from low-income families in California. The children were each given two identical samples of three foods from McDonald's, one in branded wrappers and the other in identical packaging bearing no brand. They were also given milk and carrots.