ASSOCIATIVE CONDITIONING CAN INCREASE LIKING FOR AND CONSUMPTION OF BRUSSELS SPROUTS IN CHILDREN AGED 3 TO 5 YEARS Created by Ashley Kish, Dietetic Intern

Background  > 75% of children aged 2 to 5 years do not meet the recommended intake of vegetables.  Consumption of vegetables is hindered by neophobia (fear of something new), which peaks between ages 2 and 5 years.  Neophobia can be overcome by  Repeated exposure to a food  Given the opportunity to watch parents or peers eat those foods  Associative learning; pairing flavors with nutrients or a preferred flavor

Background  Associative Conditioning: changed response to a disliked food by learning to associate it with a liked food. (positive reinforcement).  Ex: pairing vegetables with cream cheese  Exposure: repeatedly presenting a specific food  Ex: presenting vegetables alone

Purpose of this Study Compare the effectiveness of associative conditioning to exposure on changing liking for bitter (Brussels sprouts) and nonbitter (cauliflower) vegetable in children.

Methods  29 children participated  3 to 5 years of age  13 boys, 16 girls  Parents completed a questionnaire regarding their children’s liking of 11 vegetables  Brussels sprouts and cauliflower were never tried by the majority of children.  Vegetables were boiled and children were served equal amounts of each vegetable during each trial.  3 groups  Brussels sprouts (bitter) paired with sweetened cream cheese and cauliflower (nonbitter) paired with unsweetened cream cheese  Brussels sprouts (bitter) paired with unsweetened cream cheese and cauliflower (nonbitter) paired with sweetened cream cheese  Brussels sprouts and cauliflower with no cream cheese

Results

Results – Brussels Sprouts  Children liked Brussels sprouts much more when they had been paired with cream cheese than when given without cream cheese.  No significant difference between children who received sweetened vs unsweetened cream cheese

Results - Cauliflower  Liking for Cauliflower did not vary by condition  No significant differences between children given sweetened or unsweetened cream cheese

Conclusions  Pairing foods with liked flavors repeatedly can increase preferences for those foods.  Associative conditioning can increase liking for Brussels sprouts and perhaps be used to increase consumption of these and other bitter vegetables in children.  Fewer than ¼ of children liked Brussels sprouts when given without cream cheese; 72% of children liked Brussels sprouts when given with cream cheese.  Exposure alone was not successful in increasing liking for a bitter vegetable like Brussels sprouts, but has been successful in increasing preferences for nonbitter foods.  Exposure was sufficient to increase preference for nonbitter cauliflower

Sources  Anzman-Frasca, S, Savage, JS, Marini ME, Fisher, J.O., Birch LL. “Repeated exposure and associative conditioning promote preschool children’s liking of vegetables.” Appetite Apr;58(2):  Capaldi-Philips, Elizabeth D. and Devina Wadhera. “Associative Conditioning Can Increase Liking for and Consumption of Brussels Sprouts in Children Aged 3 to 5 Years.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. June 27,  Keller, Kathleen L. “The Use of Repeated Exposure and Associative Conditioning to Increase Vegetable Acceptance in Children: Explaining the Variability Across Studies.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Accepted: April 3, 2014; Published Online: June 10, 2014.