Feed your kids ‘stars’ to encourage healthy eating

According to a study, star-shaped bread is popular with children and could encourage healthier eating.The study, by European Association for the Study of Obesity, stated focusing on taste and product attractiveness might help children and their parents make healthier food choices.

In children, increased fibre consumption is related to healthier eating and better health outcomes, whereas the opposite is true for high salt consumption. Therefore, in this study, a visually attractive whole-grain bread was developed based on published health recommendations for salt and fibre, and then children evaluated the bread based on its shape, symmetry and colour.

In the study, 38 children, aged 6-10 years, tested different types of the bread which differed in shape, colour, symmetry and taste.

The liking was measured on a scale from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) and was significantly higher for the pictures with the starshaped versions (score 1.5) in contrast to the square-shaped versions (score 2.0). The yellow coloured versions of the bread (produced using turmeric) were chosen less often (18 percent) compared to usual brown bread (82 percent), also demonstrated by eyetracking.

Although 45 percent of children said they preferred white bread and 53 percent don’t eat wholegrain bread regularly, the acceptance of the starshaped bread was high: 76 percent rated the bread good or very good.