Mum Can I Have Vegetables Again? Development of Vegetable Preferences (VaVo)

Wageningen University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Fruit Intake After Weaning With Vegetables or Fruits; Vegetable Intake After Weaning With Vegetables or Fruits

Treatments: Other: Plums group; Other: green beans group; Other: Apple group; Other: Artichoke group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01858337

NL28886.081.09

Details and patient eligibility

About

• Rationale: Despite the health benefits, children's consumption of vegetables is below the recommendations. Most human food preferences are learned through mere exposure, imitation, and conditioning principles. During the last years, it has become clear that the development of food preferences starts very early in life. Furthermore, preferences that are learned early in life, are relatively stable and may track into adulthood. However, it is unclear how vegetable preferences develop from infancy until young childhood. In order to influence vegetable consumption, it is essential to study the opportunities to develop a preference for vegetable products early in childhood.
• Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of repeated exposure to vegetables compared to repeated exposure to fruit during weaning on short and long term vegetable and fruit intake. Furthermore, the stability of the learned fruit or vegetable preferences and the later food preferences are measured (i.e. vegetable, fruits, sweets).
• Study design:

In this longitudinal study we will measure the development of preferences for a particular vegetable or fruit type within 4 to 6 months old subjects, during a 19 day exposure period to fruit or vegetables (of which 9 days exposure to the target fruit or vegetable) and 6 months after this exposure period. In addition, we compare the food preferences (fruit, vegetable, sweet foods in general), after 6 months, between infants who were weaned with a variety of fruits and infants who were weaned with a variety of vegetables.

Enrollment: 101 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 4 to 6 months old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Infants between 4 and 6 months of age that are apparently healthy are invited to participate in the study. The parents have to give permission for themselves and for their infant to participate by signing an informed consent. By signing the informed consent the parents also agree to participate in the study for 2 years.

Exclusion criteria

• The parents will not sign the informed consent
• The parents have already started weaning their child
• The infant has a food allergy or intolerance
• The child has medical problems that influences with eating or food digestion. (e.g. schisis, problems with the bowls)
• The child has a known cognitive or physical developmental problem, which influences how the child's reaction or facial expressions.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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101 participants in 4 patient groups

green beans group,

Experimental group

Description:

1 of the 2 vegetable groups. The infants were weaned only with vegetables. With green beans every other day and another vegetable on the days in between.

Treatment:

Other: green beans group

Artichoke group

Experimental group

Description:

1 of the 2 vegetable groups. The infants were weaned only with vegetables. With Artichoke every other day and another vegetable on the days in between

Treatment:

Other: Artichoke group

Apple group

Active Comparator group

Description:

1 of the 2 fruit groups. The infants were weaned only with fruits. With Apple every other day and other fruits on the days in between

Treatment:

Other: Apple group

Plums group

Active Comparator group

Description:

1 of the 2 fruit groups. The infants were weaned only with vegetables. With Plums every other day and other fruits on the days in between

Treatment:

Other: Plums group