Visual exposure impacts on toddlers' willingness to taste fruits and vegetables

Houston-Price, C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6368-142X, Butler, L. and Shiba, P. (2009) Visual exposure impacts on toddlers' willingness to taste fruits and vegetables. Appetite, 53 (3). pp. 450-453. ISSN 0195-6663 doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2009.08.012

Abstract/Summary

This study explores the effects of exposure to pictures of fruits and vegetables on young children's willingness to taste the foods. The parents of 20 toddlers aged 21-24 months were asked to read a picture book about four foods with their child every day for two weeks. in a subsequent 'taste test' children displayed a neophobic pattern of behaviour towards foods to which they had not been exposed, but not towards exposed foods. Furthermore, while exposure served to decrease children's willingness to taste familiar vegetables, it increased their willingness to taste unfamiliar fruits. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.