2012- 21st Annual NC State Undergraduate Research Symposium

Session Time : 4/10/12 12:15 PM - 4/10/12 1:30 PM

Content Area : Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences

Poster Appointment: , -

Student Presenters :
Alyssa Bryn Worf Food Bioprocessing and Nutriti

Mentors and/or Co-Authors :
Suzie Goodell Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences

Abstract Title : Fruit and Vegetable Familiarity Among Preschoolers

Abstract :
Childhood obesity is a concern in the United States, with children living below the poverty line at a greater risk for inadequate nutrition. Preschool is an important age for nutrition education, because they begin to have more independence in their food choices. Pictorial tools are an effective way to assess cognitive understanding of preschool-aged children. The purpose of this study is to assess preschool-aged children’s familiarity of different fruits and vegetables using a pictorial assessment tool. Children from local Head Start centers were recruited to participate in the study. Preschoolers were assessed individually using a pictorial assessment tool to determine if they could correctly identify the pictured fruit (n=25) or vegetable (n=32) in whole and transformed forms. Apple, banana, carrots, broccoli, strawberries and orange were identified correctly >80% of the time. Mashed and baked potato, eggplant, okra, olives, cauliflower, snow peas, squash, radish, kiwi, avocado, peach and asparagus were identified <15% of the time. Exposure to fruits and vegetables can increase preschoolers’ familiarity of these foods. Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables were identified more easily while the less common and exotic fruits and vegetables were less often recognized. This study serves to provide baseline data on preschoolers’ familiarity of fruits and vegetables for the development of nutrition education materials aimed at impacting fruit and vegetable consumption in this population.