School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK.
School of Psychology & Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading Malaysia, Menara Kotaraya, Level 7, Jalan Trus, 80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
Appetite. 2015 Jan;84:1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2014.08.040. Epub 2014 Sep 10.
Activities that engage young children with the sensory properties of foods are popular with nursery schools, despite the lack of evidence for their efficacy in increasing children's consumption of healthy foods. This study provides the first empirical exploration of the effectiveness of a non-taste sensory activity program in a nursery school setting. Ninety-two children aged between 12 and 36 months were allocated either to an intervention group, who took part in looking, listening, feeling and smelling activities with unusual fruits and vegetables every day for 4 weeks, or to a non-intervention control group. In a subsequent mealtime taste test, children touched and tasted more of the vegetables to which they had been familiarized in their playtime activities than of a matched set of non-exposed foods. The results demonstrate that hands-on activities with unfamiliar fruits and vegetables can enhance children's willingness to taste these foods, and confirm the potential for such activities to support healthy eating initiatives.
尽管没有证据表明这些活动能增加儿童对健康食品的摄入量，但让幼儿接触食物感官特性的活动在幼儿园很受欢迎。本研究首次在幼儿园环境中对非味觉感官活动方案的有效性进行了实证探索。92 名 12 至 36 个月大的儿童被分配到干预组或非干预对照组。干预组的儿童每天参与 4 周的特殊水果和蔬菜的看、听、摸、闻活动，而非干预对照组则不参与。在随后的用餐时间味觉测试中，与一组未经暴露的食物相比，儿童在玩耍时熟悉的蔬菜被触摸和品尝的次数更多。结果表明，与不熟悉的水果和蔬菜进行实践活动可以增强儿童对这些食物的味觉意愿，并证实这些活动有潜力支持健康饮食计划。
