A new study by the University of Leeds Institute of Psychological Sciences shows that parents can, in fact, help their children be more willing to eat healthy foods by exposing them to it routinely at a younger age. The study offers insight into habits and tricks that will help get children eating even the ‘yuckiest’ of vegetables by choice.

The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science ONE (PLOS ONE), was conducted with participant babies and toddlers from the UK, France and Denmark. Participants were fed between one and 10 servings of a minimum of 100 g of one of three versions of artichoke puree: basic; sweetened with added sugar; or added energy with vegetable oil. Artichoke was chosen as it was unanimously the least-offered vegetable by the participants’ parents.

The study found that a significant majority of the participants, 40 percent to be exact, increased the amount of artichoke puree they ate over time. The study also found that the younger the children, the more they ate, with 21 percent of the children being categorized as ‘plate-clearers’ or children who finished more than 75 percent of each serving.

The study also showed that it was hardest to introduce the artichoke to older children, around two or three years of age. This elicits the notion that children become selective and fussy about food around this age.

In addition to showing that perseverance was the key to ensuring even the most selective toddlers were able to eat more of new vegetables, Dr. Hetherginton’s research debunked the myth that toddlers need to be made to eat veggies by stealthily masking the taste. The study showed that there was very little difference in the amount of basic puree and sweetened puree eaten by the toddlers, thereby suggesting that sweetening the vegetables makes no significant difference to toddlers.

“If you want to encourage your children to eat vegetables, make sure you start early and often. Even if your child is fussy or does not like veggies, our study shows that five to 10 exposures will do the trick.” says Dr. Hetherington.