References: Wengreen, H.J., Madden, G.J., Aguilar, S.S., Smits, R.R. & Jones, B.A. (2013). Incentivizing children’s fruit and vegetable consumption: Results of a United States pilot study of the food dudes program, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45(54-59). Fruits and Veggies…. YUCK! Are you ready to hear, “give me some broccoli!!!!”? Listen UP!… Researchers from the UK, using principles of behavior analysis, devised a program that actually gets children to eat their veggies, all on their own! The team of researchers created an animated series of videos called the “Food Dudes” targeting children aged 3-11 to encourage them to eat their veggies. Coupled with sampling new foods in the classroom and gaining rewards for eating fruits and veggies, it has seen a huge success! The series, based on 4 superheroes, gain their energy to fight the villains by eating fruits and veggies and are used as role models to encourage healthy food consumption. A study completed with US elementary school children found that by using this program the fruit and veggie consumption increased by 42% and 38% respectively. Furthermore over 80% of the teachers and parents believed that the children enjoyed the program and reports indicated that children included in the study began requesting more fruits and veggies at home. Setting a good model for your children, allowing your children to try new fruits and veggies, and calling them a superhero when they do are all great ways to get your kids to eat their fruits and veggies!

Written by Katie Kavanaugh, MS, BCBA