How does a storybook impact preschool children’s willingness to try vegetables? An experimental study from the Veggies4myHeart project

Abstract

Background: Vegetable consumption among children is below recommended. Given the critical role of vegetable consumption in health, it is essential to identify effective strategies to promote this intake. This study aimed to test the efficacy of a superhero’s storybook (SB) as a nutrition education strategy on the willingness to try (WTT) 10 different vegetables in preschool children and relate WTT with food neophobia, preferences, age, and body mass index. Methods: This is an experimental study conducted in three Portuguese preschools. The intervention consisted of 20-min educational sessions once a week for 5 weeks, using a SB for nutrition education, to 178 children aged 2 to 6 years. A baseline and a post-test were conducted to determine the impact of the nutrition education strategy on the WTT ten vegetables. WTT was assessed using the Farfan-Ramirez WTT (FR-WTT) scale. Kruskal–Wallis H test, Spearman correlation, and Wilcoxon test were used for statistical analysis. Results: The mean FR-WTT total score at baseline was significantly lower than the mean FR-WTT total score at post-test [M = 22.79 (S.D. = 11.85) versus M = 24.39 (S.D. = 11.77)], respectively. The intervention promoted a significant increase in the WTT of half of the vegetables offered and the total FR-WTT score. Conclusion: The storybook from the Veggies4myHeart project demonstrated positive results in increasing WTT vegetables. However, it is essential to understand the project’s impact at home and in the long term. It is necessary to find valuable strategies to increase vegetable consumption in different contexts, including schools and at home.