Davis Lissa A, Kielb Elizabeth I, Moding Kameron J, Running Cordelia A
Department of Nutrition Science Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Science Purdue University West Lafayette Indiana USA.
Food Sci Nutr. 2024 Jun 21;12(9):6873-6885. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.4272. eCollection 2024 Sep.
Unpleasant flavor is a commonly stated reason for avoiding vegetables. However, repeated exposure to flavors, even unpleasant vegetable flavors, improves acceptability. Yet, increasing exposure to vegetables is difficult, as vegetables can be less convenient, available, and affordable than other foods. This study describes a method to circumvent these barriers to repeated flavor exposure. We designed a game with vegetable- or control-flavored gummies, where players ( = 34) were challenged to identify the flavors over 2 weeks. One round was played per day, and the questions and gummies were designed to make it harder to identify the flavors as the game progressed. At screening, qualified subjects needed to consume <2.5 servings of nonstarchy vegetables per day as well as dislike at least one "target" and one "non-target" vegetable. The "target" vegetables (kale and broccoli) were included in the game and the "non-target" vegetables (asparagus and spinach) were included in sensory tests but not the game. Vegetable liking ratings were measured at baseline (before gameplay), after 1 week of gameplay, and after 2 weeks of gameplay. Pilot data indicate one target vegetable (kale) increased in liking after 1 and 2 weeks of gameplay among the vegetable group, but not the control group. Liking for broccoli (other target vegetable), as well as asparagus and spinach (nontarget vegetables), did not significantly change for either group. Thus, our "gamified" approach to vegetable flavor exposure may be useful in increasing acceptance of some vegetables, but additional work to identify why the game improved liking for kale but not broccoli is needed.
味道不佳是人们常提到的不吃蔬菜的原因。然而，反复接触某种味道，即使是难吃的蔬菜味道，也会提高接受度。然而，增加蔬菜的摄入量却很困难，因为蔬菜可能不如其他食物方便获取且价格实惠。本研究描述了一种方法来克服这些反复接触味道的障碍。我们设计了一款含有蔬菜味或对照味软糖的游戏，让34名玩家在两周内挑战识别这些味道。每天玩一轮，随着游戏的进行，问题和软糖的设计会让味道更难辨认。在筛选时，合格的受试者每天食用的非淀粉类蔬菜少于2.5份，并且至少不喜欢一种“目标”蔬菜和一种“非目标”蔬菜。“目标”蔬菜（羽衣甘蓝和西兰花）被纳入游戏，“非目标”蔬菜（芦笋和菠菜）被纳入感官测试但未纳入游戏。在基线（游戏前）、游戏1周后和游戏2周后测量对蔬菜的喜爱程度评分。初步数据表明，在蔬菜组中，一种目标蔬菜（羽衣甘蓝）在游戏1周和2周后喜爱度有所增加，但对照组没有。两组对西兰花（另一种目标蔬菜）以及芦笋和菠菜（非目标蔬菜）的喜爱程度均无显著变化。因此，我们这种“游戏化”的蔬菜味道接触方法可能有助于提高对某些蔬菜的接受度，但需要进一步研究以确定为何该游戏提高了对羽衣甘蓝的喜爱度而不是西兰花。
