Children's Perceptions of and Preferences for Vegetables in the West of Scotland: The Role of Demographic Factors

Abstract

Forty year old children participated in this study to measure their perceptions of common vegetables. North Glasgow was selected as the locale because it contains the areas with Scotland's lowest and highest fruit and vegetable intakes. The impact of socioeconomic status upon the children's perceptions and preferences was examined, as were age, gender and frequency of vegetable consumption. The repenory grid method was used to elicit the perceptual data. Personal attributes were scored on a 10-cm linear scale, alongside a scale to measure the children's liking for the vegetables. Generalized Procrustes analysis and Preference Mapping were used to analyze the data. Sensory characteristics (especially texture and appearance) and the context of consumption were found to influence perceptions and preferences of vegetables. Socioeconomic background influenced perceptions, while selfreported consumption was significantly affected by social background, age and gender.

The effect of preparation method and typicality of colour on children’s acceptance for vegetables

“…This study found that it was the unfamiliarity or typicality of the colour that raised expectations rather than specific colours. The findings are in accordance with the notion that colour/flavour associations play a role in shaping expectations (Baxter et al, 2000). It may be that unfavourable associations have been established in children for typically coloured vegetables and that such associations are not present for the atypically coloured vegetables, which were novel to most children.…”

“…Colour was suggested to affect children's acceptance for vegetables (Baranowski et al, 1993;Baxter et al, 2000;Zeinstra et al, 2007Zeinstra et al, , 2010 and the present findings enhance our understanding of the role of colour. Baxter et al (2000) found brightly coloured vegetables to be preferred to dark green vegetables. This study found that it was the unfamiliarity or typicality of the colour that raised expectations rather than specific colours.…”

“…Baxter et al (2000) found size and colour to affect children's acceptance for vegetables. Small, brightly coloured vegetables were preferred to large, dark green (and leafy) varieties.…”

“…However, most food preferences are learned and childhood appears to be one of the critical phases in the development of such preferences (Köster & Mojet, 2006). Physiological factors related to development of oral musculature and dentition are thought to be dominant in shaping attitudes to texture (Szczesniak, 1972), and texture appears to be of particular relevance for children's food acceptance (Baxter, Jack, & Schröder, 1998;Baxter, Schröder, & Bower, 2000;Szczesniak, 1972Szczesniak, , 2002Zeinstra, Koelen, Kok, & de Graaf, 2007). Based on interviews with mothers of four or more children, children of up to 12 years old were found to dislike textures that are difficult to manipulate in the mouth and to like simple, one-dimensional textures more than textural contrast (Szczesniak, 1972).…”

Acceptance of fish hamburgers in school meals in the Southwest Region of Paraná, Brazil

“…It is known that preferences formed in childhood normally continue into adulthood, and that children are more receptive to changes in food habits than adults (Baxter et al, 2000). Thus the Brazilian National School Meals program (PNAE), whose objectives are to contribute to biopsychosocial growth and development, learning, school performance and the formation of healthy food habits by way of the offer of adequate school meals (Brasil, 2015), appears as an important strategy for insertion of the fish consumption habit in any region characterized by low consumption of this food.…”