Taste Ratings of Healthier Main and Side Dishes among 4-to-8-Year-Old Children in a Quick-Service Restaurant Chain.

Sara Tauriello,Brianna Bartholomew,Leonard H Epstein,Elizabeth Kubiniec,Lily Mcgovern,Lucia A Leone,Stephanie Anzman-Frasca,Juliana Goldsmith

doi:10.3390/nu13020673

Sara Tauriello, Brianna Bartholomew + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13020673

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Abstract

Restaurants are regular eating environments for many families. Children’s consumption of restaurant foods has been linked with poorer diet quality, prompting emerging research examining strategies to encourage healthier eating among children in restaurants. Although taste is a primary determinant of restaurant meal choices, there is a lack of research considering children’s perspectives on the taste of different healthier kids’ meal options. The current study sought to examine, via objective taste testing, children’s liking of and preference for healthier kids’ meal options at a quick-service restaurant (QSR) and to describe bundled kids’ meals with evidence of both taste acceptability and consistency with nutrition guidelines. Thirty-seven 4-to-8-year-old children completed taste tests of ten healthier main and side dish options. Liking and preference were assessed using standard methods after children tasted each food. Children also reported their ideal kids’ meal. Results show the majority of children liked and preferred three main (turkey sandwich, chicken strips, peanut butter/banana sandwich) and side dishes (yogurt, applesauce, broccoli), with rank order differing slightly by age group. Accepted foods were combined into 11 bundles meeting nutritional criteria. Results highlight healthier kids’ meals with evidence of appeal among children in a QSR. Findings can inform future research and may increase the success of healthy eating interventions in these settings.

Highlights

Diets of children in the United States are generally energy dense, nutrient poor [1,2]and fail to meet national fruit and vegetable intake recommendations [3,4]
Nutrition information for individual food items is available upon request. Findings from these taste tests in quick-service restaurants (QSR) settings suggest that the top main dishes were the turkey sandwich, grilled chicken strips and peanut butter and banana sandwich, with some variation in the order depending on measure and age group
Younger children preferred the peanut butter and banana sandwich the most, whereas older children preferred the chicken strips followed by the turkey sandwich

Summary

Introduction

Diets of children in the United States are generally energy dense, nutrient poor [1,2]and fail to meet national fruit and vegetable intake recommendations [3,4]. Taste preferences are malleable and children can learn to like healthier foods that are available and become familiar [7,8,9]. This process relies upon regular exposure to healthier foods, which is not normative within many children’s eating environments, including restaurants. One-third of children visit quick-service restaurants (QSR) where they consume approximately one-third of their daily energy intake [10,11]. Consumption of restaurant meals has been linked with increased daily intake of energy, saturated fat, sugar and sodium among children [15,16]. Restaurants are one setting where shifts in current eating behavior have the potential to help children create healthy eating habits

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