Bucher Della Torre Sophie, Lages Marlene, Dias Sara S, Guarino Maria P, Braga-Pontes Cátia
Geneva School of Health Sciences, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, Carouge, Switzerland.
ciTechCare- Center for Innovative Care and Health Technology, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal.
JMIR Serious Games. 2023 Oct 3;11:e43843. doi: 10.2196/43843.
Promoting healthy eating in children is key to preventing chronic diseases, and vegetable consumption is notably lower than recommended in this population. Among the interventions tested, gamification has shown promise in promoting familiarization, increasing knowledge, and potentially increasing vegetable intake.
This pilot study aimed first to translate the digital game "Veggies4myHeart" into French and to assess its influence on young children's preferences and willingness to taste vegetables when combined with repeated tasting and education. We also aimed to investigate the acceptability and applicability of the game in 2 classrooms.
During 5 consecutive weekly sessions, children from 2 elementary classes played the digital game consisting of 5 mini games on different vegetables (lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, cucumber, and tomato) in pairs for 10-15 minutes. In addition, they discussed one of the vegetables and tasted the 5 vegetables in each session. Pretest and posttest food preferences and willingness to taste the vegetables were compared. Teachers participated in a semistructured interview.
A total of 45 children aged 5 to 6 years tested the French version of the digital game. The children's declared food preferences were already high for carrot, cucumber, and tomato, with scores higher than 4 out of a maximum of 5. The scores did not change significantly after the intervention, except for red cabbage (pretest: mean 2.52, SD 1.49; posttest: mean 3.29, SD 1.67; P=.006) and a composite score (pretest: mean 3.76, SD 1.06; posttest: mean 4.05, SD 1.03; P=.001). Before the intervention, 18 (44%), 30 (73%), 16 (39%), 29 (71%), and 26 (63%) children out of 41 were willing to taste lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, cucumber, and tomato, respectively. After the intervention, no significant statistical differences were observed, with 23 (51%), 36 (80%), 24 (53%), 33 (73%), and 29 (64%) children out of 45 willing to taste lettuce, carrot, red cabbage, cucumber, and tomato, respectively. Teachers supported this tool combined with repeated tasting and education and highlighted facilitators and barriers that should be anticipated to improve implementation in schools.
In this study, we translated an existing digital game applicable and acceptable to both children and teachers. A larger study is warranted to confirm the effectiveness of interventions using the digital game to promote vegetable preference, willingness to taste, and intake.
促进儿童健康饮食是预防慢性病的关键，而该人群的蔬菜摄入量明显低于推荐水平。在已测试的干预措施中，游戏化在促进熟悉度、增加知识以及可能增加蔬菜摄入量方面显示出了前景。
这项试点研究首先旨在将数字游戏“Veggies4myHeart”翻译成法语，并评估其与重复品尝和教育相结合时对幼儿蔬菜偏好和品尝意愿的影响。我们还旨在调查该游戏在两间教室中的可接受性和适用性。
在连续五周的课程中，来自两个小学班级的儿童两两一组玩这个由五个关于不同蔬菜（生菜、胡萝卜、红甘蓝、黄瓜和番茄）的小游戏组成的数字游戏，时长为10 - 15分钟。此外，他们在每次课程中讨论一种蔬菜并品尝这五种蔬菜。比较干预前后的食物偏好和品尝蔬菜的意愿。教师参与了半结构化访谈。
共有45名5至6岁的儿童测试了该数字游戏的法语版本。孩子们对胡萝卜、黄瓜和番茄的宣称食物偏好已经很高，得分高于满分5分中的4分。干预后，除了红甘蓝（干预前：均值2.52，标准差1.49；干预后：均值3.29，标准差1.67；P = 0.006）和一个综合得分（干预前：均值3.76，标准差1.06；干预后：均值4.05，标准差1.03；P = 0.001）外，得分没有显著变化。干预前，41名儿童中分别有18名（44%）、30名（73%）、16名（39%）、29名（71%）和26名（63%）愿意品尝生菜、胡萝卜、红甘蓝、黄瓜和番茄。干预后，未观察到显著的统计学差异，45名儿童中分别有23名（51%）、36名（80%）、24名（53%）、33名（73%）和29名（64%）愿意品尝生菜、胡萝卜、红甘蓝、黄瓜和番茄。教师支持将此工具与重复品尝和教育相结合，并强调了在学校改进实施时应预见到的促进因素和障碍。
在本研究中，我们翻译了一款对儿童和教师都适用且可接受的现有数字游戏。有必要进行更大规模的研究来证实使用该数字游戏促进蔬菜偏好、品尝意愿和摄入量的干预措施的有效性。
Zotero 插件