Offering choice and its effect on Dutch children's liking and consumption of vegetables: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND
Children's vegetable consumption is below recommended amounts. According to self-determination theory, stimulating children's feelings of autonomy by offering a choice of vegetables may be a valuable strategy to increase their vegetable liking and consumption. The effect of choice-offering on children's vegetable liking and consumption has, to our knowledge, not yet been studied.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to investigate whether having a choice between 2 vegetables enhances children's vegetable liking and consumption.


METHODS
Three hundred three children (age: 4-6 y) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 dinner conditions in a restaurant setting. Two similarly liked vegetables were presented, after which the child had no choice, a premeal choice, or an at-meal choice. Subsequently, the dinner was consumed with one parent present. Comparisons between the 3 conditions regarding children's meal experience, vegetable liking, and vegetable consumption were made by using analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests.


RESULTS
Children's vegetable consumption did not differ (P = 0.54) between the conditions as follows: 56 + or - 45 g in the no-choice condition, 51 + or - 46 g in the premeal-choice condition, and 49 + or - 47 g in the at-meal-choice condition. In the no-choice condition, high-reactant children (who are more sensitive to psychological, persuasive pressure) consumed fewer vegetables (45 + or - 42 g) than did low-reactant children (73 + or - 43 g; P = 0.04). Vegetable liking was similar in all 3 conditions (P = 0.43). Children appreciated being able to choose in the premeal-choice condition.


CONCLUSIONS
A premeal choice between 2 vegetables was appreciated by the children but did not increase their vegetable liking and consumption. The no-choice condition decreased vegetable consumption in high-reactant children. Future research should investigate the effects of choice-offering in the long term and in more familiar eating settings. This trial was registered at controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN03035138.
Zeinstra
Gertrude G
GG
Division of Human Nutrition Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Renes
Reint J
RJ
Koelen
Maria A
MA
Kok
Frans J
FJ
de Graaf
Cees
C
D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014675:Vegetables