Exposure to foods’ non-taste sensory properties: a nursery intervention to increase children’s willingness to try fruit and vegetables

Dazeley, P. and Houston-Price, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-142X (2015) Exposure to foods’ non-taste sensory properties: a nursery intervention to increase children’s willingness to try fruit and vegetables. Appetite, 84. pp. 1-6. ISSN 0195-6663 doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.040

Abstract/Summary

Activities that engage young children with the sensory properties of foods are popular with nursery schools, despite the lack of evidence for their efficacy in increasing children's consumption of healthy foods. This study provides the first empirical exploration of the effectiveness of a non-taste sensory activity program in a nursery school setting. Ninety-two children aged between 12 and 36 months were allocated to either an intervention group, who took part in looking, listening, feeling and smelling activities with unusual fruits and vegetables every day for four weeks, or to a non-intervention control group. In a subsequent mealtime taste test, children touched and tasted more of the vegetables to which they had been familiarized in their playtime activities than of a matched set of non-exposed foods. The results demonstrate that hands-on activities with unfamiliar fruits and vegetables can enhance children’s willingness to taste these foods, and confirm the potential for such activities to support healthy eating initiatives.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/38387
Identification Number/DOI	10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.040
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Development University of Reading Malaysia Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Nutrition and Health
Uncontrolled Keywords	Repeated exposure; Sensory interaction; Fruit and vegetables; Nursery intervention; Food familiarity
Publisher	Elsevier
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