Getting preschoolers to eat more veggies!

Increasing the portion size of vegetables served as a first course in a meal, can be effective in getting 3-5 year old children to eat more vegetables.

The  study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the effect on total vegetable and energy intake at a lunchtime meal, of serving  increasing amounts of vegetables as a first course (1). Fifty one children  from a daycare centre participated in the study. Raw carrots were chosen as the vegetable to be varied in portion size, as they were the most liked. They were  served to the children with low fat ranch dressing. One day per week for 4 weeks, the children were given a test lunch with the portion of carrots served as a first course increasing in quantity from 0g (week 1, control group, no first course) to 30g (week 2) , to 60g (week 3) to 90g (week 4). The main course in the test lunch, which was served 10 minutes after the first course, consisted of pasta, broccoli, apple sauce and milk.  The amount of food eaten, the children's heights and weights and whether they liked the foods in the test meal were recorded.

The study found that as the serve size of the carrots increased in the first course so did the children's total vegetable intake at the meal. Doubling the serving size of carrots from 30g to 60g increased carrot consumption by 47% and trippling it from 30g to 90g increased it by 54%. Between 60g to 90g there wasn't a significant increase in intake. Children still ate the same amount of broccoli in the main course despite an increase in carrot intake. The total energy intake of the meal was not significantly affected by the first course.

In Australia vegetables are more likely to be served as a morning or afternoon snack or as part of the main course at mealtimes. Serving them as a first course to a meal offers another way to get children to eat more vegetables.  The recent  Australian  National Childrens Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey has shown that only 25% of young children meet the recommended intake of 2 serves of vegetables (about 1 cup) per day (2).  In light of the study's findings it's time to review and increase the portion size of vegetables being served to children. Providing a variety of vegetables with different tastes and textures is also likely to increase intake. A concern with this study is the use of raw carrots. Raw carrots are a choking hazzard for young children and should be cooked, grated, finely sliced, mashed to prevent choking (3).

Reference

1. Spill MK. Birch LL, Roe LS, Rolls RS. Eating vegetables first: the use of portion size to increase vegetable intake in preschool children. Am J Clin Nutr 2010;91:1247-43

2. Australian National Children's Nutriton and Physical Activity Survey www.health.gov.au/nutritionmonitoring

3. Department of Health and Aging. Get up and Grow. Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for Early Childhood. Director/Co-Ordiinator Book. Commonwealth of Australia 2009