Eating a Rainbow. Introducing vegetables in the first years of life in 3 European countries

Dissociation from beloved unhealthy brands decreases preference for and consumption of vegetables

“…Our research, combined with previous research that indicates that vegetable liking is learned via socialization and vegetables are generally less preferred options for both human and nonhuman primates (e.g., Ahern et al, 2013Ahern et al, , 2014Birch, 1999;Brosnan & de Waal, 2003, Drewnowski, 1997Remis, 2002;Wertz & Wynn, 2014), provides evidence that vegetable consumption requires more available selfcontrol resources than other foods, even other healthy options such as fresh fruits. Our research also provides additional evidence that branding is a powerful marketing tool that is often resilient to interventions when people have strong relationships with brands (e.g., Ahluwalia, Burnkrant, & Unnava, 2000;Connell & Mayor, 2013;Reimann & Aron, 2009).…”

“…In contrast, most vegetables have a bitter taste, which people must acquire a liking for over time (Birch, 1999;Zeinstra et al, 2009). Recent studies have shown that vegetable consumption is learned primarily from socialization, and the introduction of novel vegetables at younger ages leads to a greater likelihood of consuming those vegetables (Ahern et al, 2013(Ahern et al, , 2014Hetherington et al, 2015;Wertz & Wynn, 2014;Zeinstra et al, 2009). These findings are consistent with the assertion that vegetable preference and consumption require greater self-regulatory resources than other nutritious food choices that are compatible with human innate preferences (e.g., fruits that are sweet).…”

“…Of particular interest in this study is the finding that eating vegetables is a learned preference that requires one to override innate taste preferences (i.e., fatty, sweet, salty) during consumption (e.g., Ahern et al, 2013Ahern et al, , 2014Birch, 1999;Wertz & Wynn, 2014;Zeinstra et al, 2009) and would therefore require self-regulatory resources to be available. Previous research has found that preferences for sweet and fatty tastes are innate and robust across cultures (Drewnowski, 1997).…”

“…This is because dissociating from these brands depletes self-regulatory resources (e.g., Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), which are required to make healthy food choices (Lisjak, Bonezzi, Kim, & Rucker, 2015;Vohs & Heatherton, 2000). We argue that vegetables in particular require available self-regulatory resources because the preference for them is not innate and must be learned (e.g., Ahern, Caton, Blundell, & Hetherington, 2014;Ahern et al, 2013;Birch, 1999;Wertz & Wynn, 2014;Zeinstra, Koelen, Kok, & de Graaf, 2009). Thus, after people dissociate from beloved unhealthy food brands, we observe (1) reduced preference for vegetables (studies ☆ Acknowledgements: All authors contributed equally to this research.…”

Familiarity and liking of vegetables: Is it important for vegetable consumption?

“…Studies have shown that the behaviours and habits of parents heavily influence those of their children (Maschinot, 2008;Lafraire et al, 2016). Parents are likely to offer food that they eat and like and are unlikely to offer foods that they dislike, which minimises the variety of foods available to the family which in turn contributes to the development of food preferences in children and adolescents (Ahern et al, 2013). In addition, parental education also plays a part in the availability of vegetables in the home (Bjelland et al, 2013;Valmórbida and Vitolo, 2014) and whether parents are supportive of vegetable consumption (Melbye et al, 2012).…”