Rewards can be used effectively with repeated exposure to increase liking of vegetables in 4-6-year-old children

Corsini, Nadia; Slater, Amy; Harrison, Adam; Cooke, Lucy; Cox, David N

Abstract

Abstract Objective To examine whether parents offering a sticker reward to their child to taste a vegetable the child does not currently consume is associated with improvements in children's liking and consumption of the vegetable. Design A randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of exposure only (EO) and exposure plus reward (E + R), relative to a control group, on children's liking and consumption of a target vegetable. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 2 weeks from baseline (post-intervention). Follow-up assessments were conducted at 4 weeks and 3 months from baseline. Setting The study took place in Adelaide, South Australia. Participants were self-selected in response to local media advertisements seeking to recruit parents finding it difficult to get their children to eat vegetables. Subjects Participants were 185 children (110 boys, seventy-five girls) aged 4-6 years and their primary caregiver/parent (172 mothers, thirteen fathers). Results The E + R group was able to achieve more days of taste exposure. Both EO and E + R increased liking at post-intervention compared with control and no further change occurred over the follow-up period. All groups increased their intake of the target vegetable at post-intervention. Target vegetable consumption continued to increase significantly over the follow-up period for E + R and control but not for EO. Conclusions The findings provide support for the effectiveness of using a sticker reward with a repeated exposure strategy. In particular, such rewards can facilitate the actual tastings necessary to change liking. Copyright © The Authors 2011.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: May 1, 2013
• Journal: Public Health Nutrition
• Print ISSN: 1368-9800
• Electronic ISSN: 1475-2727
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 942-951
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011002035
• Keywords: taste exposure, vegetables, reward, intervention, children
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/932297
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1368980011002035