Learning to like vegetables: the importance of exposure in the food preference development of preschool children

Despite a 5-a-day recommendation many children do not consume sufficient fruits and
vegetables, with vegetable intake particularly low. Children’s strong dislike for vegetables
is a barrier to intake (Nicklaus, Boggio, Chabanet & Issanchou, 2005; Zeinstra, Koelen,
Kok, & de Graaf, 2007) indicating a need to develop strategies that will help children to
develop the necessary preferences. Research has suggested that increasing children’s
familiarity with vegetables through repeated experience is crucial in enhancing
preferences. The current thesis used quantitative and qualitative methods to explore
children’s earliest experiences with vegetables in order to identify critical periods and
factors that impact upon liking and intake. Using experimental methods it then examined
the effectiveness of strategies currently being employed by parents to promote
vegetables in young children.
The data presented confirms that familiarising children with a variety of vegetables via
repeated taste exposure is fundamental in increasing children’s preference for and intake
of novel vegetables. Results suggest that the effects of experience are mediated by age,
supporting the idea of a ‘sensitive period’ during which children are more receptive to
new tastes. The onset of food neophobia in the preschool years appears to limit the
effects of repeated exposure but significant increases in consumption are observed. A
theoretical model of children’s vegetable intake contributes to understanding of food
preference development and highlights a need to focus interventions on children who
might be more resistant to the effects of exposure.