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A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
Parent-administered exposure to increase children's vegetable acceptance: a randomized controlled trial.
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
|October 5, 2013
Summary
Mailed taste exposure strategies significantly increased preschool children's vegetable intake and liking. This parent-led approach offers a cost-effective method to promote healthier eating habits without direct professional contact.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health Interventions
Background:
- Repeated taste exposure with rewards enhances children's acceptance of disliked foods.
- Previous methods required direct researcher or professional involvement.
- Mailed interventions present a scalable and cost-effective alternative for dietary promotion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and acceptability of mailed taste exposure instructions.
- To increase vegetable acceptance in preschool-aged children through a parent-administered program.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial involving families of 3-year-old twins.
- Intervention group received mailed instructions for 14 daily tastes of a disliked vegetable with a sticker reward.
- Outcomes measured by child's vegetable intake and parent-reported liking, assessed at baseline and post-intervention.
Main Results:
- Significant increases in target vegetable intake (OR 12.05) and liking (OR 12.34) in the intervention group compared to controls.
- High acceptability of the mailed procedure reported by parents.
- Data collected from 442 complete records out of 472 participants.
Conclusions:
- Mailed taste exposure instructions effectively improved children's acceptance of disliked vegetables.
- Parent-administered taste exposure is a viable strategy for increasing vegetable acceptance.
- This method bypasses the need for direct health professional involvement, enhancing accessibility.
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