Posted on 08/06/2010 10:03:56 AM PDT by decimon
Popeye cartoons, tasting parties and junior cooking classes can help increase vegetable intake in kindergarten children, according to new research published in the journal Nutrition & Dietetics.
Researchers at Mahidol University in Bangkok found the type and amount of vegetables children ate improved after they took part in a program using multimedia and role models to promote healthy food.
Twenty six kindergarten children aged four to five participated in the eight week study. The researchers recorded the kinds and amounts of fruit and vegetables eaten by the children before and after the program.
Lead researcher Professor Chutima Sirikulchayanonta said: "We got the children planting vegetable seeds, taking part in fruit and vegetable tasting parties, cooking vegetable soup, and watching Popeye cartoons. We also sent letters to parents with tips on encouraging their kids to eat fruit and vegetables, and teachers sat with children at lunch to role model healthy eating.'
Professor Sirikulchayanonta and her colleagues found vegetable intake doubled and the types of vegetables the children consumed increased from two to four. Parents also reported their children talked about vegetables more often and were proud they had eaten them in their school lunch.
She said there was no significant change in the kinds of fruit eaten by the children, but this was probably because they were already eating more fruit than vegetables at the start of the study.
According to Australia's last children's nutrition survey, Australian children are eating too much saturated fat, sugar and salt, and not enough fruit and vegetables. Only 61 per cent of the four to eight years olds surveyed ate the recommended amounts of fruit, and less than one in four ate enough vegetables.
Studies have shown the food habits and eating patterns picked up in early childhood 'track' into later childhood and adulthood. Professor Sirikulchayanonta said focusing on healthy food choices at an early age can have a major impact on the future health of adults.
The research also highlights that:
* Sitting next to children and eating the same foods as them makes children feel special * 'Tasting' parties are an enjoyable way for children to compare tastes of fruit and vegetables * Involving children in food preparation activities, like measuring, pouring and stirring helps them learn the names and colours of foods, and develops their hand-eye coordination.
Yam what I yam ping.
Olive Oyl could have stood eating a steak or two.
Makes me want to run out and join the Navy.
When I sit next to kids eating the same foods as me, I tell them to go get their own freaking food.
Yeah, but Wimpy never got the girl. And what a girl.
Why, everyone knows that the Popeye cartoon series was nothing but a plot by Big Spinach to get kids hooked on leafy greens!
Seriously, I did read once that this was in fact an effort to get more vitamins and minerals into Depression era children’s diet.
Nutrition
“Spinach has a high nutritional value and is extremely rich in antioxidants, especially when fresh, steamed, or quickly boiled. It is a rich source of vitamin A (and especially high in lutein), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betaine, iron, vitamin B2, calcium, potassium, vitamin B6, folic acid, copper, protein, phosphorus, zinc, niacin, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids. Recently, opioid peptides called rubiscolins have also been found in spinach. It is a source of folic acid (Vitamin B9), and this vitamin was first purified from spinach. To benefit from the folate in spinach, it is better to steam it than to boil it. Boiling spinach for four minutes can halve the level of folate.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinach
I remember watching Popeye cartoons when I was a kid and begging Mom to buy me canned spinach so I would be strong like Popeye.
Some of the nastiest crap I ever tried to eat. Canned spinach sucks. I liked my Mom’s fresh collard or turnip greens a lot better.
I’m 65. When I was a kid, spinach was loaded with something that made me feel I had a mouth full of cotton. Couldn’t stand it. Then they developed new strains of spinach and it was pretty good.
Lol
Say Sirikulchayanonta five times fast. I was ready to give up finding this citation when I found another presser with the DOI#. Using that author's name was useless at PubMed and the source!
Okay.
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Want to hear it again?
I guess it wasn’t too bad of advice, especially for the 30’s-40’s to eat your spinach.
Leafy green vegetables are one of the best type of vegetables to eat, though I would of hesitated after seeing Popeye’s cancerous tumor-looking forearms.
Thanks neverdem. Y’know, I’ve always had an eye for really skinny women...
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