UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.-To get a child to eat more vegetables, serve them as the first course of a meal, says researchers from the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at The Pennsylvania State University (Am J Clin Nutr 91: 1237-1243, 2010). Researchers Maureen K Spill, Leann L Birch, Liane S. Roe and Barbara J Rolls concluded increasing the portion size of a vegetable served as a first course can be an effective strategy for increasing vegetable consumption in preschool children.

They investigated whether increasing the portion size of vegetables served at the start of a meal lead to increased vegetable consumption and decreased meal energy intake in children. In a crossover design, 3- to 5-year-old children in a daycare center were served a test lunch once a week for 4 weeks (n = 51). In three of the meals, a first course of raw carrots varied in portion size (30, 60 or 90 g), and no first course was served in the control meal. Children were at liberty to consume as much of the carrots as they wanted, and then were served a main course of pasta, broccoli, applesauce and milk, where they were also allowed to eat as much or as little as they liked.

The researchers found total vegetable consumption at the meal increased as the portion size of carrots increased (P < 0.0001). Doubling the portion size of the first course increased carrot consumption by 47 percent, or 12 ± 2 g (P < 0.0001). Tripling the portion size of carrots, however, did not lead to a further increase in intake (P = 0.61).

However, the amount of calories the children consumed were not significantly affected by the amount of carrots served in the first course. The effect of portion size on intake was not significantly influenced by the children’s age or body weight status.