title: Pairing vegetables with a liked food and visually appealing presentation: promising strategies for increasing vegetable consumption among preschoolers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vegetable consumption among preschool children is below recommended levels. New evidence-based approaches to increase preschoolers' vegetable intake, particularly in the child care setting, are needed. This study tests the effectiveness of two community-based randomized interventions to increase vegetable consumption and willingness to try vegetables: (1) the pairing of a vegetable with a familiar, well-liked food and (2) enhancing the visual appeal of a vegetable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven preschoolers enrolled in a Child and Adult Care Food Program-participating child care center participated in the study; complete lunch and snack data were collected from 43 and 42 children, respectively. A within-subjects, randomized design was used, with order of condition counterbalanced. For lunch, steamed broccoli was served either on the side of or on top of cheese pizza. For a snack, raw cucumber was served either as semicircles with chive and an olive garnish or arranged in a visually appealing manner (in the shape of a caterpillar). Paired t-tests were used to determine differences in consumption of meal components, and McNemar's test was performed to compare willingness to taste.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neither visual appeal enhancement nor pairing with a liked food increased vegetable consumption. Pairing increased willingness to try the vegetable from 79% to 95% of children (p=0.07). Greater vegetable intake occurred at snack than at lunch.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further research should explore the strategy of pairing vegetables with liked foods. Greater consumption at snack underscores snack time as a critical opportunity for increasing preschool children's vegetable intake.
authors.affiliation: 1 School of Medicine, University of Arizona , Tucson, AZ.
authors.forename: Danielle C S
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Meghan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.forename: Melinda L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology*; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D062409:Lunch; D008297:Male; D062410:Snacks; D014675:Vegetables