Children eat more veggies if given choice

GRANADA, Spain, June 2 (UPI) -- Allowing children a choice of vegetables results in the children eating as much as 80 percent more veggies, researchers in Spain said.

The researchers at the University of Granada also found the bitterness of calcium -- which is noticeably present in vegetables such as spinach, collard greens, cabbage, onions, chard or broccoli -- can be a factor in why children may not want to eat vegetables.

Paloma Rohlfs Dominguez of the Institute for Neuroscience at the University of Granada, along with Professor Jaime Vila Castelar and other colleagues at the University of Granada and the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands, analyzed vegetable consumption in children age 6. The researchers used "provision of choice," in which children were allowed to choose the vegetables they wanted for each meal, as part of the study.

Children who were allowed to choose their vegetables ate almost 1.6 ounces per day, the study said.

The findings are published in the Brain Research Bulletin and is online in Sciencedirect.

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Children eat more vegetables when allowed to choose

 

This release is available in French and Spanish.

A gesture as simple as allowing children to freely choose the vegetables they want to eat helps to increase the consumption of these foods in children, as University of Granada has found. Moreover, his work suggests that the bitter taste of calcium, present in vegetables such as spinach, collard greens, cabbage, onions, chard or broccoli, can be a factor negatively influencing children's consumption of vegetables.

To carry out this experimental study, the authors analyzed the main factors determining vegetable consumption in children under 6 years by evaluating the effectiveness of a strategy called "Provision of choice". In this strategy children were allowed to choose the vegetables they wanted to take in each meal.

Provision of choice

Researchers worked with 150 children at four public schools in Granada, Spain, managed by the Foundation Granada Educa. Children were allowed to choose the vegetables they wanted to eat for lunch. Similarly, they were given a tool known as "Provision of Choice", which was found to increase consumption of vegetables by up to 80 percent. They further noted that children who were allowed to choose ingested 20 grams more, representing an average of 40 grams per day between lunch and dinner. Given that the ration of vegetables served was 150 grams, "it is a very important quantity", the authors of the paper state.

The main autor of this pioneer research in Spain is Paloma Rohlfs Dom?nguez, at the Institute for Neuroscience of the University of Granada; the paper was conducted by professor Jaime Vila Castelar, at the department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment. Other researchers from the University of Granada, and of the University of Wageningen, Netherlands also participated in this research study.

This work also revealed that children's sensitivity to the bitterness of glucosinolate ?present in vegetables? caused by the chemical component 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), may be one of the reasons why many children reject vegetables. Similarly, the bitter taste of calcium also affects negatively.

The results obtained in this study were partially published in the international journal Brain Research Bulletin, and are available online in Sciencedirect.

Contact: Paloma Rohlfs Dom?nguez. Institute of Neurosciences / department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatment, University of Granada. Cell phone: +34 958 240 667. E-mail address: palomaroh@ugr.es

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Jump-start spring early with your children indoors by growing seeds

If your children are ready to jump-start spring inside, and are searching for something that sparks their imaginations, starting beautiful flowers or delicious vegetables from seed is a great beginning. The Miracle-Gro Kids Gardening Kits are an easy educational way for your children to tend and nurture plants, watch the seeds germinate, spread roots and grow toward the sun.

This is the perfect opportunity for your children to get their hands dirty. Simply mixing the Miracle-Gro Gro-Mix supplied, water and a seed, covering the pots with the greenhouse lid, and remembering to keep the plants watered will start your children down the gardening path. They will be counting down the days until they can transplant their sprouts into the backyard or a pot on the stoop, porch, balcony or patio.

With spring just around the corner, try some other fun indoor activities with your family:

* What is growing in my greenhouse? While seedlings are busy growing into big, strong plants, take your children on a tour of a local market, flower shop or library to research what they are growing at home. For example, if you plant peppers, head over to the fresh produce department and purchase several different pepper varieties. Have your children taste, feel, and smell each kind to familiarize themselves with the vegetables and learn about the different varieties.

* Have a fun art day. Work with your children to diagram where they will transplant their flowers and vegetables into the backyard on paper with crayons, stickers and other art supplies. If they are a little bit older, ask them to measure the size of your flower bed or vegetable plot, and help them convert the size into a smaller design. Add the vegetables and flowers you would like to grow as well. Find books at the library that discuss the benefits and consequences of planting different types of plants next to one another. Having these diagrams will make it easy for your children to find the perfect place to put their sprouts once the time arrives for transplanting.

* Experiment in the kitchen. Children love to play and experiment with food, so invite them to investigate recipes that will incorporate some of the vegetables and flowers they may be growing. For example, pansies and nasturtiums are tasty and work well as edible decorations on desserts, salads or in fruity drinks. If your children like lasagna, find a recipe that includes those peppers they are growing. You can help them develop a recipe memory book based on their greenhouse gardens, complete with photos of them planting the seeds, journals of the care they gave the plants and the final recipes using the ingredients they grew with their own two hands.

* Rainy day exploration. Go to Miraclegrokidsgardening.com and explore the many projects and activities the gardening experts at Scotts have designed with your kids in mind. Try making one of the great kids' recipes or print out some of the fun learning activities for a fun way to explore gardening even in the rain.

Getting your hands dirty with your children inside is the best way to start spring just a little bit early this year. Your family will love watching the development of the vegetables and flowers they started inside.

The views expressed here are those from a third-party content provider, and not necessarily the views or recommendations of the Lexington Clipper-Herald.

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