The effect of choice-offering on children's vegetable consumption

The effect of choice-offering on children's vegetable consumption: a between-subject randomised controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN03035138

Enrollment

300

Registered

2009-07-31

Start date

2009-01-05

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2015-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Healthy eating in children and related health status Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine

Interventions

Three treatments during a dinner situation: 1. No-choice condition: the child is not allowed to choose

the child is randomly assigned one of the two target vegetables 2. Choice-condition: the child is allowed to choose which of the two target vegetables he or she wants to eat for dinner 3. Variety-cond

no follow-up.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Healthy children aged 4 - 6 years old (girls and boys) and their parents 2. Children whose parents signed an informed consent 3. Parents who gave their consent to participate

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Children without signed informed consent of their parents 2. Children with vegetable allergy 3. Children who refuse to eat target vegetables of the study

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Vegetable consumption: consumption will be assessed by subtracting the amount of vegetable left on the plate from the pre-weight, measured after the intervention (post-treatment).	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Liking of the vegetables: the children will make a preference rank order for various vegetables, with the use of three categories (smileys) of liking. This preference rank-order will be performed twice. The first time is before the start of the study at school, in order to select the target vegetables. The second rank-order will be performed at the Restaurant of the Future, after the meal, to assess how the offering of the vegetables influences the pleasantness of the vegetables. We focus on the vegetable that the child ate (choose self versus no choice), but also for the vegetable that the child had seen but was not allowed to eat (choose self versus no choice). Measured before and after the intervention (pre + post- treatment). 2. Perceived choice and autonomy: to be able to check if the children experienced more choice when they were in a choice condition, we will ask the children and their parents a few questions related to choice and autonomy (Based on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory). Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 3. Intrinsic motivation, reactance and experience of meal context: various questions will be asked to understand the process of reactance, the whole meal experience and children's intrinsic motivation. For the children, these questions will be very simple and concrete, so they can answer them reliably. The answers of the parents may help us understand how the child and his/her parent experienced the situation (Based on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory). Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 4. Consumption of the other meal components: the consumption of potatoes and meat can influence children's vegetable consumption. Consumption will be measured by weighing before and after the meal. Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 5. Parental consumption: we will measure parental consumption of potatoes, meat and vegetables as a measure of modelling: do parent and child eat similar portions? Do they finish the same	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Liking of the vegetables: the children will make a preference rank order for various vegetables, with the use of three categories (smileys) of liking. This preference rank-order will be performed twice. The first time is before the start of the study at school, in order to select the target vegetables. The second rank-order will be performed at the Restaurant of the Future, after the meal, to assess how the offering of the vegetables influences the pleasantness of the vegetables. We focus on the vegetable that the child ate (choose self versus no choice), but also for the vegetable that the child had seen but was not allowed to eat (choose self versus no choice). Measured before and after the intervention (pre + post- treatment). 2. Perceived choice and autonomy: to be able to check if the children experienced more choice when they were in a choice condition, we will ask the children and their parents a few questions related to choice and autonomy (Based on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory). Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 3. Intrinsic motivation, reactance and experience of meal context: various questions will be asked to understand the process of reactance, the whole meal experience and children's intrinsic motivation. For the children, these questions will be very simple and concrete, so they can answer them reliably. The answers of the parents may help us understand how the child and his/her parent experienced the situation (Based on Intrinsic Motivation Inventory). Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 4. Consumption of the other meal components: the consumption of potatoes and meat can influence children's vegetable consumption. Consumption will be measured by weighing before and after the meal. Measured after the intervention (post-treatment). 5. Parental consumption: we will measure parental consumption of potatoes, meat and vegetables as a measure of modelling: do parent and child eat similar portions? Do they finish the same

—

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Apr 1, 2026