Yes, you should have thought of that! And yet it's a very simple technique for presenting vegetables (or other foods) in a fun way to children.
Studies carried out in the United States with students and published in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that the proportion of vegetables on the students' plates increased by 25% if the names made them 'want' to eat them, and all this without changing the original recipe!
The experiment took place in several stages. Each day, the scientists changed the names of the dishes but not the recipes or the presentation.
There were 4 possible titles:
- The name of the vegetable alone (beans, carrots...)
- The name of the vegetable accompanied by a "restrictive" health statement (light, no added sugar, etc.)
- The name of the vegetable with a "positive" health statement (source of vitamin C, antioxidant, etc.)
- The name of the vegetable with a surprising or attractive mention (crackling beans, dynamite beets...)
Le résultat de l’étude a été sans appel : 25% d’étudiants en plus ont choisi les légumes qui portaient une appellation rigolote et attractive.
Better still, the latter have even increased their consumption by almost 23% compared to usual!
On the other hand, all the health-related mentions were not successful, especially the so-called "restrictive" mentions which were rejected by more than 40%...
So who said healthier foods were less tasty? You just have to find a nice name for it... 🙂 Are you trying? What do you suggest?
Sources : Using Enticing Food Labeling to Make Vegetables More Appealing, EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 11 A.M. (ET), MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2017.
