Children's Introduction to Novel Plant-Based Foods through Varying Repeated Exposure Schedules

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Infant Feeding Behavior
• Food Neophobia

Background:

• Infant acceptance of novel foods is crucial for healthy dietary patterns.
• Understanding optimal exposure strategies can combat picky eating.
• Repeated exposure is a known method to increase food acceptance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate how different schedules of repeated food exposure affect infant consumption.
• To determine if exposure intensity or duration is more impactful for novel food acceptance.

Main Methods:

• Fifty-nine infant-caregiver dyads were randomized into three groups with varying artichoke exposure schedules.
• Consumption was measured at baseline, post-intervention, and after an extinction period.
• Mixed-effects models analyzed the impact of exposure schedule on consumption changes.

Main Results:

• Infants in the 'take-a-break' and 'extended' exposure schedules significantly increased artichoke consumption.
• The 'standard' schedule with intense, short-term exposure did not lead to increased consumption.
• Consumption increases in the modified schedules were sustained after a 6-week extinction period.

Conclusions:

• Less frequent, persistent exposure over a longer duration enhances infant consumption of novel foods.
• Exposure persistence, not intensity, appears more beneficial for improving infant food acceptance.
• Findings suggest tailored exposure strategies can overcome neophobia in infants.