Clinical trial NCT03043118: Children's Taste Study to Increase Vegetable Intake in Preschoolers
Official title: A Pilot Study to Test the Influence of Vegetable Flavor Variety Using Herbs and Spices on Preschool Children's Vegetable Intake
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pediatric Obesity
Keywords: Eating Behaviors
Preschool
Vegetable Intake
Lead sponsor: Penn State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-02-03
Enrollment: 48
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 3
Maximum age (years): 5
Standard ages: CHILD
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Studies have shown that when exposed to a variety of food and flavor options people tend to consume more than when only one item is presented. This strategy has been used to increase vegetable intake in adults and during snacktime in children. Increasing vegetable consumption in children is important because higher vegetable intake has been associated with reduced risk of disease and because vegetables can help prevent weight gain by lowering the energy density of a meal. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using herb and spice blends to create flavor variety in carrots as a model vegetable in a laboratory test meal. We predict that children will consume more vegetables and that the energy density of the meal will be lower when a variety of seasoned carrots are presented in comparison to a single flavor. A secondary goal of the study was to determine other influences that may predict children's liking and intake of seasoned vegetables, such as previous exposure, infant feeding practices, and genetic bitter sensitivity.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Acceptance of test meal foods
* Generally healthy

Exclusion Criteria:

* Food allergies
* Medications (prescription or OTC) that can affect taste, smell or appetite
* Medical conditions

Primary outcomes:
measure: Chang in Vegetable Intake
timeFrame: Baseline and 1 week
measure: Change in Total Food Intake
timeFrame: Baseline and 1 week
measure: Change in Meal Energy Density
timeFrame: Baseline and 1 week
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Spice Intake Questionnaire
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Home Spice Checklist
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Infant Feeding Practices
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Liking of Broccoli with Herbs and Spices
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Liking of Carrots with Herb and Spice Blends
timeFrame: Baseline
Other outcomes:
measure: Age
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Height
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Weight
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: 6-n-propylthiourcacil Sensitivity
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Body Mass Index
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Preschool Adjusted Liking Scale
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Family Demographics
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Parental Feeding Practices
timeFrame: Baseline
Locations:
city: University Park
country: United States
facility: The Pennsylvania State University
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University
name: Kathleen L Keller, Ph.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: