Zeinstra Gertrude G, Koelen Maria A, Kok Frans J, de Graaf Cees
Department of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2007 Jul 9;4:30. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-4-30.
Most children do not meet the recommended guidelines for fruit and vegetable intake. Since preference is an important predictor of intake, more knowledge is needed about children's preferences and about how these preferences develop. As most research about preferences has ignored cognitive development, this study was designed to explore the relation between children's perceptions and preferences for fruit and vegetables and their cognitive development.
The study population consisted of eight 4-5-year-old children, eight 7-8-year-old children and twelve 11-12-year-old children, recruited via a primary school in Wageningen, The Netherlands. Qualitative in-depth information was obtained by duo-interviews and focus group discussions. A structured guide with questions and game tasks was applied to address different domains in a consistent way.
The developmental progress at the abstraction level was seen in children's reasoning across all domains. Children's preferences expanded and increased in complexity as they moved to a higher age bracket. The most important determinants for liking and disliking shifted from appearance and texture attributes in 4-5-year-olds towards taste attributes in 11-12-year-olds. Children's knowledge of basic tastes increased. Their understanding of health improved as they grew older. The emergence of social norms and perspectives of others as the children grew older was also seen in relation to fruit and vegetables. Child-reported parental strategies to stimulate healthy eating appeared to vary with age in line with cognitive development.
Cognitive development is paralleled by changes in the importance given to the attributes that determine whether a child likes or dislikes fruits and vegetables; children's understanding of and reasoning about health; and parental use of strategies. These developmental differences should be incorporated in programs designed to increase long-term fruit and vegetable intake in children.
大多数儿童未达到水果和蔬菜摄入量的推荐标准。由于偏好是摄入量的一个重要预测因素，因此需要更多关于儿童偏好以及这些偏好如何形成的知识。由于大多数关于偏好的研究都忽略了认知发展，本研究旨在探讨儿童对水果和蔬菜的认知与偏好及其认知发展之间的关系。
研究对象包括通过荷兰瓦赫宁根的一所小学招募的8名4至5岁儿童、8名7至8岁儿童和12名11至12岁儿童。通过双人访谈和焦点小组讨论获取定性的深入信息。应用一份带有问题和游戏任务的结构化指南，以一致的方式涉及不同领域。
在所有领域的儿童推理中都可以看到抽象层面的发展进步。随着年龄增长，儿童的偏好范围扩大且复杂性增加。喜欢和不喜欢的最重要决定因素从4至5岁儿童的外观和质地属性转向11至12岁儿童的口味属性。儿童对基本口味的了解有所增加。随着年龄增长，他们对健康的理解也有所改善。在水果和蔬菜方面，也可以看到随着儿童年龄增长，社会规范和他人观点的出现。儿童报告的父母促进健康饮食的策略似乎因年龄而异，与认知发展一致。
认知发展与决定儿童喜欢或不喜欢水果和蔬菜的属性的重要性变化、儿童对健康的理解和推理以及父母策略的使用并行。这些发展差异应纳入旨在增加儿童长期水果和蔬菜摄入量的计划中。
