Real-Time Technology Video-Coding Tools for Programming Multisensory Interventions Incorporating Exotic Local Fruits and Vegetables in Early Childhood: Implications for Pediatric Obesity Prevention Research.
Promoting fruit and vegetable (henceforth referred to as F&V) intake in early childhood is
significant to public health now and in the future. One of the goals of Healthy People 2020
(i.e., Goal NSW-15) is to increase the variety and contribution of vegetables in the dietary
habits of the population, including its youngest members (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). Education efforts fostering the consumption of fruits and vegetables in young children serve as a catalyst for efforts to combat childhood obesity by helping promote shifts in dietary patterns with decreased intake of energy-dense foods high in fat and sugars to foods high in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients.
In our work with the U.S. federal food assistance program, Head Start, in the New England region of Western Massachusetts, we found that children were not achieving the recommended F and V intake, and that overweight and obesity, as well as micronutrient deficiencies (vitamins A and C, and iron) may be prevalent.
Early childhood researchers and practitioners addressing obesity prevention should consider
introducing exotic varieties of F&V with diverse sensory qualities. In this novel intervention
effort, educators must consider utilizing messaging that involves engagement of the five senses
(sight, smell, touch, taste, texture and integrate the combination of all senses in children’s food
perceptions and sensory-based food education activities. Introducing a variety of F and V in
positive, engaging activities highlighting their sensory characteristics such as color, shape, texture, and taste, increases the likelihood that young children will taste and eat a wider variety of
these health-promoting foods.
Obes Res Open J. 2017; 4(1): e1-e6. doi: 10.17140/OROJ-4-e010
