Promoting Vegetable Intake in Preschool Aged Children

The aim of this study is to test the efficacy of a repeated taste exposure intervention, a nutritional educational intervention and combination of both to increase intake of an unfamiliar vegetable in preschool aged children (aged 3-5 years). In particular the study will assess whether these strategies are effective to encourage intake of an unfamiliar vegetable in children who are fussy eaters or going through the food neophobia phase. The effectiveness of these interventions will also be observed overtime at 3 and 6 months post intervention.

Nurseries will be randomised into one of four conditions over the 12 week intervention period; these include educational intervention only, taste exposures only, taste exposures and educational intervention or no intervention (control group). All children will be offered an unfamiliar vegetable prior to the intervention and after the intervention to evaluate changes in intake of the unfamiliar vegetable. The repeated taste exposure groups will be offered the novel vegetable repeatedly (1 exposure per week) over the 12 week period. For the educational intervention nursery staff will be advised to deliver two components of an existing PhunkyFoods educational programme over the same period.

Parents will be asked some general demographic questions, child food behaviour questions and questions about their feeding practices. Finally nursery staff will be requested to provide feedback to evaluate intervention feasibility, barriers and efficacy.

It is predicted that children's intake of the unfamiliar vegetable will vary by intervention. The primary hypothesis to be tested is that children who receive the repeated taste exposures are more likely to increase their intake of the unfamiliar vegetable compared to those in educational only or control conditions. The second hypothesis is that repeated taste exposures will increase intake of an unfamiliar vegetable in fussy eaters more than education.

Inclusion criteria

• 2 to 5 years old
• Attends nursery on selected test day

Exclusion criteria

• Relevant food allergy (mooli / radish)
• Medical condition which would prevent them from eating the test vegetable