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Title: Influences on children's dietary behavior, and innovative attempts to change it

Author
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item DIEP, CASSANDRA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BARANOWSKI, JANICE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2013
Publication Date: 8/19/2013
Citation: Baranowski, T., Diep, C., Baranowski, J. 2013. Influences on children's dietary behavior, and innovative attempts to change it. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. 62(3):38-46.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Fruit and vegetable (FV) intake may protect against several chronic diseases, and the preferences and habits in relation to FV intake appear to form in early childhood. Child FV intake reflects many influences from multiple levels (e.g., internal to the child, family, school, neighborhood). We have documented influences at each of these levels, but more definitive research in longitudinal samples remains to be conducted. Even though validated comprehensive models of influences on child FV intake in longitudinal studies are not available to guide intervention design for children of different ages, there has been an urgency to initiate chronic disease prevention interventions to mitigate the substantial health consequences. Effective interventions use known behavior change procedures to change the influences on FV intake enough to change the behavior, but few such interventions have demonstrated effectiveness at meaningful levels. Innovative methods need to be explored. Videogames for Health offers a medium that is attractive to children and shows promising results, especially for dietary behavior change. Exciting additional research is needed to clarify possible bidirectional influences between the environmental and individual influences on child intake with possible age-related differences in influence and in the optimal design of video games for dietary change.