O25 Bodacious Broccoli: Assessing Preschool-Aged Children's Liking and Acceptance of Broccoli in Different Cooking Forms

Abstract

Background Current literature suggests early childhood is a crucial time for establishing healthy eating habits. These behaviors often extend into adulthood. Most children in US eat below recommended amounts of fruits/vegetables. Current nutrition education interventions may not be effective in reaching target intake. Objective To measure if altering cooking form for broccoli affects children's liking, desire to consume again, and interest in making again. Broccoli was chosen because it has been reported to be America's favorite vegetable, is affordable, and available throughout the year. Study Design, Setting, Participants A 3 × 2 design with cooking form (raw with dip, pizza, soup), presented in 3 culinary tasting lessons, with binary rating (thumbs up or thumbs down) for 3 assessment questions. Raw broccoli was used as a control. A convenience sample of 4-year-old preschoolers from a variety of race and ethnic backgrounds (n = 17, 35% M). Measurable Outcome/Analysis Dichotomous rating measures for acceptance, likelihood to eat again, and desire to make recipe at home were examined for the 3 cooking forms of broccoli and control. Frequencies examined percentage of preschoolers that accepted, were likely to eat again, and desired to make at home for 3 broccoli cooking forms and control. T-tests were performed to test for significant difference between each of the 3 cooking forms and the control. Results For the 3 main outcome measures: acceptance (77%), likelihood to eat again (82%), desire to make at home (100%), the largest percentage of preschoolers chose broccoli pizza. There was a significant difference in outcome measures for all cooking forms compared to the control (P Conclusion Offering broccoli on pizza is a method to increase acceptance of broccoli, likelihood to eat it again, and desire to make at home. The results of this study adds to the body of research on how to encourage children to eat more broccoli, to meet recommended amounts of vegetables, by offering it in other forms than raw. Funding Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.