Kids Not Eating Their Veggies? Try Renaming Them

Scientists suggest that changing the name of vegetables may make them more enticing to young ones.

In a recent study, 186 four-year-olds were given carrots in their lunch on some days. For the other days, they were given the same carrots, but they were renamed to X-ray Vision Carrots. On the days of the renamed carrots, the children ate twice as more of them.

Also observed afterwards was that the kids continued to eat 50 percent more carrots, even when they didn’t have a cool name.

“Cool names can make for cool foods,” said Brian Wansink of Cornell University, lead author of the study. “Whether it be 'power peas' or 'dinosaur broccoli trees,' giving a food a fun name makes kids think it will be more fun to eat. And it seems to keep working — even the next day.”

Even though the study was done in pre-schools, researchers say that these name games could still work at home.

This sounds like it could be a fun exercise for the whole family, as well as a healthy one. Courageous Corn, Roller Coaster Radishes, Movie Star Lettuce.

What other names can you come up with?

Source: LiveScience