title: The addition of a plain or herb-flavored reduced-fat dip is associated with improved preschoolers' intake of vegetables.
abstract: This quasiexperimental study used a within-subjects experimental design to determine whether adding herbs and/or spices to a reduced-fat dip increased children's willingness to taste, liking of, and consumption of vegetables. Participants were preschool children aged 3 to 5 years who attended a child-care center in Central Pennsylvania in late 2008 and early 2009. First, children's familiarity with and liking of six raw vegetables and five dips (reduced-fat plain, herb, garlic, pizza, and ranch) were assessed. In Experiment 1 (n=34), children tasted a vegetable they liked, one they disliked, and one they refused, with a reduced-fat plain dip and their favorite reduced-fat herb-flavored dip. In Experiment 2 (n=26 or n=27), they rated their liking of celery and yellow squash, with and without their favorite reduced-fat herb dip (pizza or ranch), and their intake of those vegetable snacks was measured. In Experiment 1, the herb-flavored dip was preferred over the plain dip (P<0.01), and children were three times more likely to reject the vegetable alone, compared with eating the vegetable paired with an herb dip (P<0.001). In Experiment 2, children ate significantly more of a previously rejected or disliked vegetable (celery and squash) when offered with a preferred reduced-fat herb dip than when the vegetable was served alone (P<0.05). These findings suggest that offering vegetables with reduced-fat dips containing familiar herb and spice flavors can increase tasting and thereby promote liking, acceptance, and consumption of vegetables, including vegetables previously rejected or disliked.
authors.affiliation: Center for Childhood Obesity Research, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. jfs195@psu.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Savage
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Bordi
authors.forename: Leann L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Birch
mesh_terms: D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003212:Condiments; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010414:Pennsylvania; D017365:Spices; D014675:Vegetables
keywords: Herbs; Preschool children; Spices; Vegetable consumption