Better prepared fruits and vegetables: success with children
In the USA, chefs have achieved a real feat , namely, an increase of up to 30% in the consumption of fruits and vegetables in school canteens, simply by improving the taste of these healthy foods.
These results, published in the online version of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics (1) , also show that the presentation and arrangement of fruits and vegetables are important factors in the fight against childhood obesity, pushing thus children and adolescents to consume them more.
Prioritizing food quality and taste to fight childhood obesity
Scientists conducted this study in fourteen elementary schools and colleges during the 2011-2012 school year, in Massachusetts, United States, which represents exactly 2638 students from CE2 to fourth grade.
Some schools were randomly selected in order to benefit from the services of a chef twice a week, as well as different presentation strategies, encouraging the choice of fruit and vegetables. The other schools did not benefit from any of these services in their canteen.
The researchers analyzed the results after a period of three months, and the schoolchildren who had benefited from the services of a chef were 8% more likely to choose vegetables than the others. And after seven months, they are 20% more likely to choose fruit and 30% more likely to take vegetables from the canteen .
“ These findings illustrate the importance of focusing on palatable foods in school meals. Partnerships with professional chefs can bring a marked improvement in the quality of the food served and be an economically viable option ,” says Juliana Cohen, researcher in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University School of Public Health and co – author of the study.
The presentation and arrangement of fruit and vegetables in canteens remains an effective strategy
About 32 million school children in the USA eat a meal every day of the week in the canteen of their school establishment, knowing that for the greatest number of low-income households, about half of the daily calorie intake comes from meals. taken to school.
Many schools, about 15,000, also use strategies to arrange and present healthy foods in front of other products , on displays for example.
Regarding this study, school canteens having used several presentation techniques encouraging the consumption of healthy products, the choice of vegetables increased by 17%, and only 3% for fruit, compared to other schools and colleges.
Juliana Cohen also underlines “ this research also shows that schools should not give up serving healthy foods even if young people initially shun them ”.
“ Food quality and taste had a much greater impact on consumption than canteen presentation techniques ,” concludes the lead author of this research, Eric Rimm, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the faculty. Harvard Public Health.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.