Fast food advertisements are going largely unnoticed, according to a new study. Children who view the ads are at times unsure of what they are seeing, and tend to confuse healthier food with unhealthy food.

In 2009, various fast food restaurants agreed to use healthy foods in their ads for children with the goal of battling against the growing obesity epidemic in the U.S. A new study that examined the childrens’ reactions to the ads found that the healthy food message appears to be lost among the younger viewers.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, included children ages three to seven. Participants were shown screen grabs from an array of fast food TV commercials. The ads were aired between July 2010 and June 2011, after the fast food industry agreed to include healthier foods in their advertisements for children.

According to study results, which were published in JAMA Pediatrics, showed that nearly half of all children were unable to recognized milk when they viewed images of it from McDonald’s and Burger King ads. Furthermore, just 10 percent of the children were able to tell that the apple slices in the Burger King ads were apples rather than French fries.

A closer look at the ads reveals why it is so easy for children to mistake what they are seeing. The apple container used in the ad is very similar to the typical French fries container. During the study, one child who viewed the image described it as, “French fries in an apple bag.”

Although it may be a step in the right direction towards combating obesity, especially among children, the researchers believe that the current ads are misleading.

Dr. James Sargent, lead study author and co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, says, “Burger King’s depiction of apple slices as ‘Fresh Apple Fries’ was misleading to children in the target age range.” He continues, “The advertisement would be deceptive by industry standards, yet their self-regulation bodies took no action to address the misleading depiction.”