Marketing Vegetables in Elementary School Cafeterias to Increase Uptake.

OBJECTIVES: Children do not eat enough servings of vegetables, underscoring the need for effective interventions encouraging this behavior. The purpose of this research was to measure the impact that daily exposure to branded vegetable characters has on vegetable selection among boys and girls in elementary schools. METHODS: In a large urban school district, 10 elementary schools agreed to participate in the study. They were randomly assigned to a control condition or 1 of 3 treatment conditions: (1) a vinyl banner displaying vegetable characters that was fastened around the base of the salad bar; (2) short television segments with health education delivered by vegetable characters; or (3) a combination of the vinyl banner and television segments. We collected 22 206 student-day observations over a 6-week period by tallying the number of boys and girls taking vegetables from the school's salad bar. RESULTS: Results show that 90.5% (from 12.6% to 24.0%; P = .04) more students took vegetables from the salad bar when exposed to the vinyl banner only, and 239.2% (from 10.2% to 34.6%; P < .001) more students visited the salad bar when exposed to both the television segments and vinyl banners. Both boys and girls responded positively to the vinyl banners (P < .05 in both cases). CONCLUSIONS: Evidence from this study highlights the positive impact of branded media on children's vegetable selection in the school cafeteria. Results from this study suggest potential opportunities for using branded media to encourage healthier choices for children.

Dispelling myths about a new healthful food can be more motivating than promoting nutritional benefits: the case of Tofu.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines what factors impact the adoption of certain types of healthy foods, such as Tofu, by future nutritional gatekeepers. DESIGN: Information on perceived facilitators and barriers to the utilization of barriers would be obtained via interviews and surveys. SETTING: In-depth laddering interviews and an online survey during 2012 were utilized. SUBJECTS: The in-depth laddering interviews were conducted with 83 young women and new mothers (non-vegetarians and non-Asians) who were enthusiastic lovers of Tofu. 502 women from the target demographic (between 20 and 35, non-Asian) were recruited from a national panel and surveyed online in 2012. RESULTS: Based on the interviews, 21 primary reasons for trying Tofu (facilitators) and 10 reasons that might be preventative (barriers) were identified. A key finding was that facilitators were not motivating factors for why women adopted Tofu into their diets. Instead, barriers explained more than 44% of the variance for not adopting tofu. CONCLUSIONS: When encouraging nutritional gatekeepers to add Tofu to their household diets, it may be more effective to focus on changing the barriers. This study suggests that nutritionists and health practitioners may be more successful in encouraging the adoption of healthy new foods by dispelling their misconceptions rather than focusing on their nutritional benefits.

Association of nutrient-dense snack combinations with calories and vegetable intake.

BACKGROUND: With other factors such as general diet and insufficient exercise, eating non-nutrient dense snack foods such as potato chips contributes to childhood obesity. We examined whether children consumed fewer calories when offered high-nutrient dense snacks consisting of cheese and vegetables than children who were offered non-nutrient dense snacks (ie, potato chips). METHODS: Two hundred one children (115 girls) entering the third to sixth grades were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 snacking conditions: (1) potato chips only, (2) cheese-only, (3) vegetables only, and (4) cheese and vegetables. Children were allowed to eat snacks freely provided while watching 45-minute TV programs. Satiety was measured before they started eating snacks, in the middle of the study, and 20 minutes after they finished eating the snacks. Parents completed a questionnaire regarding their family environment. RESULTS: Children consumed 72% fewer calories when eating a combined snack compared with when they were served potato chips, P < .001. Children who ate the combination snack needed significantly fewer calories to achieve satiety than those who ate potato chips, P < .001. The effects of the snack conditions on caloric intake were more pronounced among overweight or obese children (P = .02) and those from low-involvement families (P = .049) CONCLUSIONS: The combination snack of vegetables and cheese can be an effective means for children to reduce caloric intake while snacking. The effect was more pronounced among children who were overweight or obese and children from low-involvement families.

How vegetables make the meal: their hedonic and heroic impact on perceptions of the meal and of the preparer.

OBJECTIVE: Although most parents know that vegetables are healthful, vegetables are served at only 23% of American dinners. If added nutrition is not a sufficient motivation, might a parent be more inspired to serve vegetables if doing so improved either the taste of the entrée or how loving and thoughtful the server would be perceived? The present paper details two studies which investigated whether serving vegetables changes the perception of the cook and the perception of an entrée's taste. DESIGN: In Study 1, people evaluated the personality of a cook who either did or did not include a vegetable in a family dinner. In Study 2, five different meals that either included or did not include a vegetable were rated in terms of the taste of the entrée and of the whole meal. SETTING: US-based online survey. SUBJECTS: American mothers (n 500), ranging in age from 18 to 65 years (mean age 38.4 years), with at least two children under the age of 18 years living at home. RESULTS: Serving vegetables improved taste expectations for the entrée as well as for the whole meal. Additionally, serving a vegetable with a meal also enhanced perceptions of the meal preparer. They were evaluated as being more thoughtful and attentive as well as less lazy, boring and self-absorbed. CONCLUSIONS: These two studies show new hedonic and heroic motivations for serving vegetables: (i) they increase the hedonic appeal of the meal and (ii) they increase the heroic appeal of the cook. More vegetables are likely to be served with a meal if preparers know that the addition of vegetables makes them appear to be both a better cook and a better person.