Do children prefer colored plates?

Abstract

There are indications in the literature that extrinsic parameters, such as the color of the plate, might be important for people’s appreciation of a meal. Here we compared the preferences of two groups of differently aged children with those of adults.Participants rank-ordered images of 4 familiar dishes presented on six plates of different colors (achromatic: black, white; chromatic: yellow, green, blue and red). We also obtained data on hunger, familiarity and liking of the different foods.Children <10 y were more likely to choose chromatic plates as first choices of plates with food compared to children ≥10 y who preferred the white plate. For all children taken together, the yellow plate was the least preferred. Analyses of achromatic vs. chromatic plate choices showed that for first choices and mean ranks, children <10 y chose differently than children ≥10 y who behaved as the group of adults. Association tests between choices of color of empty plates and choices of color of plates with food showed stronger associations for children <10 y than for children ≥10 y, whose associations fell between those of the young group of children and those of the adults for whom no significant associations were found. Differences in liking and familiarity of the dishes were not correlated with the choice of plate color.Children <10 y were more likely to select chromatic plates as first choices compared to children ≥10 y, who could not be distinguished from adults. Plate color could possibly be used to facilitate young children’s acceptance of new foods.