by A new study published in Nutrients illustrates how potatoes can play a beneficial role in encouraging school children to eat more vegetables. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans currently recommend that children ages 3 to 18 consume 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables per day to reach their total vegetable goals. However, the average school-aged child eats only about 1 cup a day. “So we wanted to learn more about how school meals can influence children’s eating behavior and possibly encourage greater consumption of vegetables,” explains lead researcher Gene Ahlborn, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Sciences. Brigham Young University Foods. .
The study found that children ate more vegetables in total when peas and carrots were served in combination with potato-shaped smiley faces, suggesting that combining kid-friendly forms of potatoes with other vegetables may promote greater overall vegetable consumption. Potato Shaped Faces is a potato product shaped like happy faces, made with mashed potatoes and sunflower oil to create a slightly crunchy exterior and a soft interior.
“Getting kids to eat vegetables is always a challenge,” Ahlborn says. “Potatoes not only add nutrients, such as potassium, directly to the plate, but they can also help encourage children to explore other vegetables served alongside them and therefore help them get closer to their overall nutritional needs” .
Through controlled mealtime observation, the research team assessed how different potato presentations and preparation styles impacted the amount of vegetables school-age children consumed in a cafeteria. While seasoned potatoes were found to be less attractive to participants aged 7 to 13, and potato-shaped faces served separately of peas and carrots did not encourage greater total vegetable consumption, meals in which potato-shaped sides were served with peas and carrots on the same plate led to a measurable increase in total vegetables consumed.
Ahlborn and her colleagues also found that serving potato-shaped faces in a cafeteria led to reduced vegetable waste compared to the control meal. “This underlines the broad impact of school menus. We want the vegetables on school lunch trays to nourish children’s bodies, not fill the trash can,” adds Ahlborn.
Taken together, these findings suggest that serving kid-friendly potato preparations with other vegetables could have cumulative benefits not only for students’ dietary patterns but also for food waste reduction efforts in school cafeterias.
These results align with findings from other research showing that adolescents who consume potatoes are more likely to have higher diet quality, nutrient intake, and adequacy; Therefore, encouraging potato consumption can be a good strategy to improve nutritional status.1
Study details
Study design
Dr. Ahlborn studied children’s dietary behaviors and consumption patterns during a series of meals that took place within a controlled, simulated environment designed to mimic a school cafeteria. During each session, children were given a base meal consisting of 2% milk, chicken nuggets, ketchup, and applesauce, along with the experimental meal component (reflecting different presentations and preparations of a pea mixture). and carrots). The researchers weighed foods before and after meals to assess plate waste and also analyzed total vegetable consumption.
The experimental meal component was presented in five mixed pea and carrot (MPAC) variations, including:
- MPAC and a whole wheat bagel served separately (control condition)
- MPAC and potato-shaped faces served in separate bowls
- MPAC and seasoned chopped potatoes served in separate bowls
- MPAC and seasoned chopped potatoes served in the same bowl
- MPAC and potato-shaped faces served in the same bowl
Results
These small changes in presentation and preparation style had a measurable impact on participants’ vegetable consumption and were illustrated in the study findings; When the potatoes were on the trays, the children ate more peas and carrots than when they were served with a separate roll.
Participants consumed the most vegetables and calories when peas, carrots, and potatoes were served in the same bowl (452 calories total and 8.77 g more vegetables than when peas and carrots were combined with rosemary potatoes in the bowl). same bowl). This was a minor difference compared to the control meal, with only 21 additional calories and 5 additional grams of fat (all unsaturated).
Strengths and limitations
Strengths of the study included removing parents from the immediate study environment to minimize potential biases during mealtime consumption, and food intake and plate waste were measured in real time, compared to recall methods. less precise dietary While the researchers took steps to create a controlled environment that mimicked a school cafeteria, the experiment was conducted in a food lab that did not take into account meal length, lunch time before or after recess, nutritional education or other factors related to eating behaviors at mealtime. at school.
Full details can be found in the published article, “The effects of potato presentation on vegetable intake in school-age children” in Nutrients (https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15214496). Funding was provided by the Alliance for Potato Research and Education; The funders played no role in the design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of this research.
References
- Agarwal S, Fulgoni VL. Potato intake is associated with higher diet quality and better nutrient intake and adequacy among US adolescents: NHANES analysis 2001-2018. Nutrients 2021, volume 13, page 2614. 2021;13(8):2614. doi:10.3390/NU13082614
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