Modifying children’s food preferences: the effects of exposure and reward on acceptance of an unfamiliar vegetable

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate two interventions (one reward-based and one exposure-based) for increasing children’s acceptance of an unfamiliar vegetable compared with a no-treatment control. It was predicted that the exposure condition would increase liking for, and consumption of, the vegetable relative to either the reward or control group.Design: Using a randomized controlled design, participants were assigned to one of two intervention groups (exposure or reward) or to a no-treatment control condition, for a 2 week period. Liking for, and consumption of, red pepper was assessed before and after the treatment period.Setting: The study was conducted in three primary schools in London.Subjects: Parental consent was obtained for 49 out of a possible 72 children.Interventions: Interventions comprised eight daily sessions during which participants in the exposure group were offered a taste of sweet red pepper and told that they could eat as much as they liked. Participants in the reward group were shown a sheet of cartoon stickers and told that they could choose one of them on condition that they ate at least one piece of the pepper.Results: The exposure-based intervention significantly increased both liking (P= 0.006) and consumption (P= 0.03) compared with the control group. The outcome of the reward intervention was intermediate and did not differ significantly from the exposure or control conditions.Conclusions: Repeated exposure to the taste of unfamiliar foods is a promising strategy for promoting liking of previously rejected foods in children.