Eating Behavior
Conditions
Keywords
fruits, vegetables, food neophobia, preschool, children
Brief summary
The overall objective of this project is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the New Foods Take Time Intervention in Head Start preschool classrooms.
Detailed description
The overall objective of this project is to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the New Foods Take Time Intervention. This curriculum is designed to increase children's preference for and consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) by encouraging children to try new FV and repeatedly taste these foods.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALNew Foods Take Time
New Foods Take Time is a series of 5 classroom lessons focused on increasing children's willingness to try fruits and vegetables.
Sponsors
Penn State University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Classrooms will receive New Foods Take Time, a series of 5 interactive lessons. Children, parents, and teachers will participate in the research
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
2 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Child Inclusion Criteria: * Enrolled in a Head Start preschool center * Between the ages of 2 and 5 years old Child
Exclusion criteria
* Food allergy or restriction to foods in the tastings Parent Inclusion Criteria: * Parent or primary caregiver of a child enrolled in the study * Age 18 years or older * English speaking Parent
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher acceptability of intervention | At conclusion of 5 week intervention | Teachers will complete a questionnaire with scaled and open-ended questions about the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention |
| Change in number of foods tasted | Pre intervention and at conclusion of 5 week intervention | Children will be presented with small portions of familiar and novel fruits and vegetables and be asked if they would like to taste them |
| Change in liking of study foods | Pre intervention and at conclusion of 5 week intervention | For foods that children agree to taste, they will be asked to rate their liking of them on a three point likert-type scale (Yummy, Just ok, or Yucky) |
| Change in self-competence to try new foods | Pre intervention and at conclusion of 5 week intervention | Children will be presented with a series pairs of drawings with descriptions (e.g., This boy likes to try new foods and This boy does not like to try new foods) and asked to select which is most like them. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Child body mass index | Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention | Height and weight will be measured and used to calculate body mass index (BMI). Age and sex specific percentiles/z-scores will be calculated using CDC growth standards. |
| Parent report of child neophobia | Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention | Parents will complete a survey about their child's eating behavior |
| Parent report of food insecurity | Measured once at any time between enrollment and conclusion of 5 week intervention | Parents will complete the USDA food security questionnaire |
| Change in intake of study foods | Pre intervention and at conclusion of 5 week intervention | The number of pieces of each food eaten during the tasting procedure |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed