title: Improvement of meal composition by vegetable variety.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our physical environment influences our daily food choices unconsciously. Strategic changes in the food environment might therefore be potential measures to influence consumers' food selection towards better nutrition, without affecting the consumers' freedom of choice. The present study aimed to examine whether increased vegetable variety enhances healthy food choices and improves meal composition.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomised experiment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were instructed to serve themselves a lunch from a buffet of food replicas. Individuals were randomly assigned to one of three food combinations: condition A - cooked carrots, pasta and chicken; condition B - cooked green garden beans, pasta and chicken; condition AB - carrot sticks, green garden beans, pasta and chicken. Two one-vegetable conditions were compared with one two-vegetable condition. Data from Zurich, Switzerland, were analysed using one-way ANOVA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-eight students (fifty-three men; mean age 22·8 (sd 2·2) years, minimum = 19 years, maximum = 29 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants who could choose from two vegetables derived significantly more energy (141 kJ) from vegetables compared with participants in the one-vegetable condition (104 and 84 kJ, respectively). Furthermore, in the two-vegetable condition, the relative energy of the meal derived from vegetables (10·9 %) increased significantly compared with the one-vegetable condition (8 % and 6·1 %, respectively). The total energy content of the meal (mean 1472 (sd 468) kJ) was not affected by the experimental manipulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Having a choice of vegetables increases a person's tendency to choose vegetables and leads to the selection of a more balanced meal. Serving an assortment of vegetables as side dishes might be a simple and effective strategy to improve food selection.
authors.affiliation: ETH Zürich, Institute for Environmental Decisions, Consumer Behavior, Zurich, Switzerland. tbucher@ethz.ch
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bucher
authors.forename: Klazine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: van der Horst
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Siegrist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004032:Diet / Q000379:methods*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D013334:Students; D013557:Switzerland; D014495:Universities; D014675:Vegetables; D055815:Young Adult