Dr Michelle Dickinson: nanotechnologist on a new study revealing the best way to get kids to eat vegetables

Feeding children healthy foods like fruits and vegetables can be a challenging task – but now science has a smiling solution.

A new study published in the journal Nutrients claims the easiest way to get your children to eat more vegetables is to add a smiling potato!

The study involved serving a tray of food to children which contained chicken nuggets with ketchup, a glass of milk, applesauce and mixed peas and carrots.

American children volunteers were recruited for the study – this is noteworthy as a recent study found that half of all American children don’t eat a single vegetable in a day.

On each food tray one extra item was added, this was either a bread roll, diced seasoned potatoes or a few crispy smiley potato faces.

The researchers found very little difference in the vegetable consumption across the trays apart from one tray. When the smiley potato was mixed in with the bowl of vegetables, the children ate 51 percent more vegetables!

The smiling potato only added an extra 21 calories and 5g of unsaturated fat which seems like a great trade-off in exchange for more eaten veggies.

This also agrees with previous research that found children were more likely to eat healthier snacks and drinks if there was a smiley face on the packaging.

Many parents already position the food on a plate for their children in a way that makes a funny face, this study just adds to the evidence that the best way to get your vegetable-adverse children to eat more veggies is to literally serve it with a smile!

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