Improving Children’s Diets by Introducing Fruits and Vegetables in Group-Based Settings: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Context: In 2022, less than 18% of UK children aged 5-7 years consumed 5 portions of fruit and vegetables, with an average intake of 3 portions per day. Group settings (eg, schools or nurseries) present an opportunity to apply policies to encourage children’s consumption of novel and healthy foods. Objective: The extent and types of evidence regarding efforts to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables by young children in group settings who reside in high-income countries was investigated in this scoping review. Data Sources: A systematic scoping review was conducted that followed the JBI guidelines and included articles, published from 2012 onward, about methods to increase consumption of novel and/or healthy foods by children aged 3-7 years in settings within local government control and who were residing in high-income countries. Data Extraction: A total of 7000 articles were initially identified, of which 114 were included in this review after screening. Data Analysis: Intervention methods included an array of different techniques from educational programs to repeated exposure, food modification, and behavioral modeling approaches. Conclusion: Interventions administered to children aged between 3 and 7 years in group-based settings have been shown to improve the consumption of healthy foods, specifically fruits and vegetables. Behavioral modeling and sensory play interventions, in particular, present the highest level of success.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf092
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Psychology
Funding Information: Funding for this work was received from the Aston University Policy Support Funding via Research England.
Additional Information: Copyright © The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: scoping review,preschool children,diet,educational settings
Publication ISSN: 0029-6643
Last Modified: 04 Jul 2025 14:37
Date Deposited: 04 Jul 2025 14:37
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://academi ... nuaf092/8185006 (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2025-07-03
Published Online Date: 2025-07-03
Accepted Date: 2025-07-01
Authors: Pickard, Abigail
Alving-Jessep, Emma
Delivett, Christopher
Jenkins, Rosemary H.
Pullar, Luke
Farrow, Claire (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-3745-6610)
Blissett, Jacqueline (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-0275-6413)

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License: Creative Commons Attribution


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