Abstract
Involvement in vegetable preparation is thought to be an effective strategy to increase children’s vegetable intake, but the evidence from experimental studies is scarce. A between-subject experiment was executed in a restaurant setting to investigate the effect of participation in vegetable preparation on 4–6-year-old children’s vegetable intake. After a baseline evening meal, intervention children (N = 50) participated in a vegetable preparation session together with an enthusiastic chef. Control children (N = 51) participated in small groups in a book-reading activity. Subsequently, they ate an evening meal. Follow-up sessions at one month and three months were included to assess possible longer-term effects. Vegetable intake was the main outcome. Secondary outcomes were vegetable choice and involvement in food-related activities at home. For all four sessions, children’s vegetable intake ranged between 50 and 60 g in both conditions (p > 0.05). Participation in carrot preparation did not increase children’s vegetable intake. Involvement in food-related activities at home remained stable in the intervention group, whereas it decreased slightly in the control group (p = 0.01). A cluster analysis identified four distinct vegetable eating patterns over time, suggesting that there are different segments of children. To conclude, participating once in an out-of-home vegetable preparation session with an enthusiastic chef did not influence children’s intake of a familiar vegetable, but it may support their general involvement in food-related activities at home.
Highlights
Whereas the health benefits of consuming sufficient vegetables are well-known (Aune et al, 2017; Boeing et al, 2012; Oyebode, GordonDseagu, Walker, & Mindell, 2014), children’s vegetable consumption is below the recommendations in many countries (Lynch et al, 2014; Van Rossum et al, 2016)
Because eating habits are established early in life (Nicklaus et al, 2004; Skinner et al, 2002), we focused on young children aged 4–6 years
Intervention children participated in an interactive vegetable preparation session, whereas control children participated in a book reading activity
Summary
Whereas the health benefits of consuming sufficient vegetables are well-known (Aune et al, 2017; Boeing et al, 2012; Oyebode, GordonDseagu, Walker, & Mindell, 2014), children’s vegetable consumption is below the recommendations in many countries (Lynch et al, 2014; Van Rossum et al, 2016). Involvement in vegetable preparation has been identified as a promising strategy to encourage children’s vegetable intake (Caraher, Seeley, Wu, & Lloyd, 2013; Hersch, Perdue, Ambroz, & Boucher, 2014; Seeley, Wu, & Caraher, 2010). The use of pre-prepared and ready-to-eat foods has increased, the choice to cook from scratch with raw ingredients is made less often, and cooking has become more deskilled (Dougherty & Silver, 2007) This deskilling may lead to a lack of opportunity for children to interact playfully with real foods at home, imitating grown-up cooking behaviour and learning to acquire healthy cooking skills. This deskilling may in turn negatively influence their future eating patterns (Caraher, Dixon, Lang, & Carr-Hill, 1999; Hersch et al, 2014; Levy & Auld, 2004; Seeley et al, 2010)
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