Research shows that children react to attractive presentation of food, including fruit

Why children prefer fruit that's attractively presented

12th May 2010, 10:09am

Making fruit look good is the most important thing caterers can do to get children to eat more of it, according to the latest research.

When children were offered in tests the same amount and types of fruit, they ate noticeably more if it was made fun and attractive, the journal Appetite reports in its most recent issue.

The report said researchers, who studied nearly 100 pupils in the Netherlands and Belgium, urged parents and schools to act on the findings.

Though they also warned that food presentations needed to remain innovative.

In the study of children aged four to seven, apples, strawberries and seedless grapes were put on offer, but presented in different ways.

Given the choice, the children opted for these fruits more readily when they were made into a hedgehog, for example, that is skewered with cocktail sticks that were pierced into a watermelon.

The same cubed fruits offered in a plain white bowl attracted little attention.

Researches added that another technique was to try to hide vegetables and fruits in other foods like sauces.

Dr Laura Wyness of the British Nutrition Foundation commented on the Appetite article, saying that even though the children understood that both fruit options would taste the same, nearly twice as much of the "fun" fruit was consumed in the experiment.

However, the researchers also warned that "fun" fruit presentations might soon lose their appeal with children if they were used too many times.

"It is probably necessary for caterers, parents and food producers to remain innovative," they said.

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